Poles say Benedict passes Polish language test

KRAKOW, Poland, May 28 (Reuters) German Pope Benedict may have dropped a consonant or two during his speeches delivered in Polish over his four-day trip but his efforts to speak the difficult Slavic tongue won over Polish hearts.

''He passed his Polish language exam,'' said Tadeusz Dymek, 63, one of nearly a million people at his open-air mass today.''It was clear that he struggled with our consonants but we understood him and I believe he understood us.

''After this pilgrimage I can say that this Pope is now my Pope,'' he added.

The Vatican has said that Benedict, who speaks German, Italian, French, English and Spanish, practiced his Polish pronunciation for months before the visit.

His predecessor pope John Paul spoke many languages and was famous for his ability to address crowds in their own language.

Many Poles still feel the loss after last year's death of compatriot pope John Paul and needed reassurance from his successor of their special place in the Catholic world.

More reserved than his charismatic predecessor, Benedict started out the trip cautiously, sticking to his phonetically prepared speeches which he read out in Polish before switching to Italian, the Vatican's official language.

By the end of a journey, which took him to the cities and shrines that shaped John Paul's life, he made off-the-cuff remarks reminiscent of his predecessor, thanked Poles for a warm reception in Polish and prayed in their tongue.

''I am proud that the German Pope talks to us in Polish. His awkwardness in our language helped him win us over,'' said Marcin Skarzynski, a 40-year-old florist who also attended the mass in a Krakow park.

''He did not leave us after John Paul's death and as we learn to love the new Pope, he is learning our language,'' said mass goer Jacek Polak.

REUTERS VJ RN0203