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	Pope Hopes to Heal Wounds Famagusta Gazette (Cyprus) April 16, 2008 http://www.famagusta-gazette.com/print_this_story.asp?smenu=106&sdetail=2602 The Pope has said he hopes to use his trip to America to help heal the wounds from a decades-long clergy sex scandal. Pope Benedict XVI is on his first papal visit to the United States. According to the US Catholic Church's own investigations, more than 5,000 priests have abused twelve and a half thousand children in the country since the 1950s. The Pope said the sexual abuse by clergy had been a great suffering for the US Catholic Church and for him personally. "I am deeply ashamed and will do whatever is possible so that this does not happen in the future," he said. "It is more important to have good priests than many priests. We will do everything possible to heal this wound." The Pope was greeted by US President George W Bush and his wife Laura, who were waiting on the tarmac when the Pontiff's plane touched down at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington. Hundreds of spectators cheered and clapped as he made his way onto the runway During his six-day visit, the head of the Catholic Church will address the UN and lead prayers at Ground Zero. Pope Benedict, who was elected three years ago, vowed to work against a recurrence of the crisis, which tarnished the Church's reputation, saying "we will absolutely exclude paedophiles from the sacred ministry". In recent years, the US Catholic Church, which has around 65 million followers, has paid $2bn (1.26bn) to settle clergy sexual abuse cases.
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