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	Pope On His 'Mission' to USA Vatican Radio April 15, 2008 http://www.oecumene.radiovaticana.org/en1/Articolo.asp?c=199461 [with audio of the pope's comments in English] Pope Benedict XVI is bound for the United States of America on his 8th Apostolic voyage, dedicated to the theme Christ Our Hope. The Pope is due to touch down in Washington at 4pm local time. US President George W Bush plans to greet Pope Benedict when the jet lands at Andrews Air Force Base. Latest reports from Washington speak of thousands of Americans flooding the military airport to catch a glimpse of the Pope on his arrival, with extra buses being chartered in to cope with moving the crowds. Over the Atlantic the Holy Father took time out for a traditional Papal Journey Mid-flight Press conference, where he spoke to journalists travelling with him about his hopes for his 6 day visit to Washington and New York. Emer McCarthy Reports: Justice, pastoral care and prevention"- this was the 3 level formulae put forward by Pope Benedict XVI to help heal the wounds of all those who have suffered the shameful scourge of sexual abuse and ensure in his own words that paedophiles can never be priests. The Holy Father was speaking to journalists on board an Alitalia 777 Boeing, which has been affectionately nicknamed, Shepherd One by the thousands of American men women and children who are impatiently waiting for his arrival in Andrews Air force Base. After outlining the two main objectives of this visit, his pastoral visit to the Church in America which is marking a series of anniversaries this year, and his speech to the United Nations, also celebrating its 60th birthday, the Pope then addressed the most pressing questions for the secular media; top of the list whether he had a special message for those in the US church who are still suffering the painful aftermath of the child abuse scandal. It is difficult for me to understand how priest could have failed in this way their mission to give healing to give the love of God to these children, confessed the Pope, We are deeply ashamed and we will do everything possible to ensure that this will not happen in the future. Pope Benedict XVI went on to illustrate just how the Church must address this problem which has also affected Churches outside the United States; I think we have to act on three levels, the first is at a political level to ensure justice is done. We will absolutely exclude paedophiles from the sacred ministry, they can never be priests and we will do all we can to help the victims who have been deeply affected by this, these are the two sides of justice. On a pastoral level we must ensure healing and reconciliation, this is a big pastoral engagement and I know that the bishops, priests and all the Catholic people in the United States will do all in their power to help in this process. Thirdly - Prevention, we have made a visitation [inspected-ed] of the seminaries and we will do all that is possible in educating seminarians, to a deep spiritual, human and intellectual education only sound candidates can be admitted to the priesthood, only persons with a deep love for Christ, and for their fellow people can become priests. It is more important to have good priests than to have many priests. Other issues touched upon during the 15 minute question and answer session included immigration, the importance of the Latin American presence in the US Church and the public value of religion in the United States. Pope Benedict XVI also dwelt on the pacifying role of the United Nations, which he said can only work if all nations have the same shared fundamental values which are then translated into laws that are upheld by all concerned. The confirmation of this fundamental concept, concluded Pope Benedict XVI is one of the main objectives of my mission. Hear Pope's comments to journalists in English
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