The Pope has held a surprise last-minute private mass with four Australian sexual abuse victims, seeking to reinforce his apology for the “evil” of paedophile priests.

At the unscheduled meeting, just hours before Benedict XVI flew out for Rome after World Youth Day celebrations, the pontiff listened to the victims’ anguished stories and offered them consolation.

But some victims were angry at the secretive manner of the meeting and complained of being left out.

Anthony Foster, whose two daughters were raped as children by a Melbourne priest, said he was disgusted at the sneaky way the Church had arranged the meetings with “handpicked” victims.

Mr Foster, whose eldest daughter Emma committed suicide this year aged 26, said he had sought a meeting with the pope and felt he could have helped the church find ways to prevent further abuses in the future.

“It seems absolutely incredible that the Catholic Church would ignore the views of people who’ve been articulate in putting forward the needs and requirements of all victims and simply meet with a few victims who may well not be able to present the views of all victims,” Mr Foster said.

The criticism was backed by Broken Rites, a group representing victims, which had unsuccessfully sought a meeting with the pontiff during his visit.

Chris MacIsaac, a spokeswoman, told reporters if “they (the Church) want to fix this they must listen to the people who have grievance with it”.

The Catholic Church in Sydney said it had chosen the victims to meet the Pope and claimed it was an example of the seriousness with which it was tackling the crisis of sexual abuse in the Church.

“The Holy Father’s meeting with victims reflects the continuing commitment of the whole church in Australia to bring healing and justice to those who have been so terribly hurt by sexual abuse,” it said in a statement.

The private mass in Sydney followed the Pope’s meetings with US victims in April 1. On Saturday he issued a strong public apology to Australian victims and spoke of his shame at the “evil” committed by some members of the clergy.

The Vatican said at the meeting the pope had assured the victims “of his spiritual closeness” and had promised to continue to pray for them, their families and all victims. The victims were not named.

“Through this paternal gesture, the Holy Father wished to demonstrate again his deep concern for all those who have suffered sexual abuse,” the Vatican said.

The Pope flew out of Sydney after meeting Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister, who told the pontiff he had won over Australians with his simple humanity and “become one of us”.