By Philip Pullella ONNA, Italy, April 28 (Reuters) - Pope Benedict made an emotional visit on Tuesday to the area of Italy devastated by an earthquake and asked God to hear the "silent cry" of victims rising from the bloodied earth beneath his feet. Low cloud and rain forced Benedict to scrap plans to fly by helicopter to the area east of Rome and he was driven instead to Onna, a village that became of symbol of the April 6 quake because it was left completely uninhabitable. The quake, Italy's worst in three decades, killed nearly 300 people, including 40 people alone from Onna, when it felled centuries-old houses as well as recent constructions. Speaking under a light drizzle in a tent town where Onna's survivors have transferred their lives, he read a haunting prayer asking God to hear the palpable cry of pain in the area. "It is the silent cry of the blood of mothers, fathers, little innocent children that rises up from this earth," he said in a sombre voice as rain fell. Benedict then walked along a muddy path to greet grieving residents, many of whom could not contain their tears. Nearby in a tent where the villagers of Onna brought broken statues and religious paintings damaged in the quake, residents prayed in what is now their church. "It's difficult to pray in a tent but we do it with so much love," said Giovanni Paoletti, 48, who lost his mother-in-law and nephew on the night of the quake. "We hope to be able to return to the old church, to bring these statues back where they belong. We dream of a normal life, to start living again," he said. Father Cesere Cardozzo, the village pastor, said his tiny but bruised flock was holding up. "We thank the Lord that at least we have a tent to pray in. Some of us have been beaten down but our faith has become a potent weapon. Our faith is stronger than an atomic bomb," Cardozzo said. Guido Bertolaso, head of the Italy's civil protection department who led the rescue effort, then drove the pope past the ruins of collapsed buildings. The pope later made a brief visit to the regional capital of L'Aquila, which bore the brunt of the quake. He stopped before the city's destroyed basilica and prayed before the ruins of the university dormitory where 8 students lost their lives.
Pope Benedict XVI (R) talks with a fireman as he visit the collapsed university dorm building known as the 'Casa dello Studente' in Aquila, April 28, 2009. Pope Benedict XVI on ...
