The Vatican has issued the text of the speech the Pope was to have delivered yesterday at La Sapienza university in Rome but which he decided to cancel because of student protests.

In the speech - a complex academic lecture on faith, reason, humanism, philosophy and the mission of universities - he acknowledged that various things said by theologians over the centuries had "been proven false by history".

University students poured into Vatican City on Wednesday to show their support for Pope Benedict after student protests forced him to cancel a speech at Rome's top public college.

The German Pontiff decided late on Tuesday not to deliver an address at La Sapienza university yesterday after protests by a small but vociferous group of students and faculty members. Some occupied part of the campus to demand he stay away.

Many Italians condemned the protests, saying they smacked of censorship. Politicians and pundits used words like "shame" and "humiliation" to describe the national mood.

The Pope smiled a welcome to university students who showed up at his general audience. As he entered the audience hall, they shouted "Freedom!" in reference to his right to free speech.

"If the Pope won't come to La Sapienza, La Sapienza will come to the Pope," read one banner held by students.