By Mark Mueller
The Star-Ledger
April 15, 2008
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/04/aboard_the_papal_plane.html
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE -- Pope Benedict XVI said today he was "deeply ashamed" by the clergy sex abuse scandal that has roiled the Catholic Church in the United States, calling it a "great suffering" for both the thousands of victims and the church in general.
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| Pope Benedict prays during Good Friday services at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. Photo by Marco Di Lauro |
Speaking briefly with reporters aboard the papal plane as he traveled from Rome to Washington D.C., the pope addressed head-on an issue that was certain to come up repeatedly during his six-day American visit.
"As I read the histories of these victims, it is difficult for me to understand how it is possible that priests betrayed in this way," the pope said. "Their mission is to give healing, to give the love of God to these children. We are deeply ashamed and we will do everything possible that this cannot happen in the future."
The pope addressed the issue about an hour after taking off from Rome's Leonardo Da Vinci Airport, answering a reporter's question in English. He spoke calmly, his face impassive.
"It is a great suffering for the church in the United States, and for the church in general, and for me personally, that this could happen," Benedict said.
He said the church was working on several levels to solve the problem, including efforts in seminaries, to screen for and remove pedophiles working toward the priesthood. He made a distinction between homosexuals and pedophiles.
"I would not speak in this moment about homosexuality, but pedophilia, which is another thing," the pope said. "We would absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry. ... Who is guilty of pedophilia should not be priests."
He added that it was "more important to have good priests than to have many priests."
"We hope that we ... have done and will do in the future, all that is possible to heal this wound," Benedict said.
Responding to the pope's airborne comments, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests issued a press release from Washington D.C., saying Benedict's words improperly spared the Catholic bishops who oversaw the abusive priests.
"It's easy and tempting to continually focus on the pedophile priests themselves. It's harder but crucial to focus on the broader problem - complicity in the rest of the church hierarchy," said Peter Isley, a SNAP board member.
"Three years into his papacy," Isley said, "Benedict has done essentially what John Paul II did - make a few vague, brief remarks about the continuing crisis, and nothing more.
The pope is due to land this afternoon at Andrews Air Force Base, where he will be greeted by President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush.
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