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	The Pope's First Day in the U.S. against Sexual Abuse, and for America As a " Model of Positive Secularism" By Sandro Magister Chiesa April 17, 2008 http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/197841?eng=y ROMA, April 17, 2008 On the plane heading toward the United States, responding to the questions of journalists, Benedict XVI immediately took up the question that most inflames American public opinion, that of sexual abuse committed against minors by Catholic priests. The pope addressed the topic, in English, as follows: "It is a great suffering for the Church in the United States and for the Church in general, for me personally, that this could happen. If I read the history of these events, it is difficult for me to understand how it was possible for priests to fail in this way the mission to give healing, to give God's love to these children. I am ashamed and we will do everything possible to ensure that this does not happen in future. I think we have to act on three levels: the first is at the level of justice and the political level. I will not speak at this moment about homosexuality: this is another thing. We will absolutely exclude paedophiles from the sacred ministry; it is absolutely incompatible and who is really guilty of being a paedophile cannot be a priest. So at this first level we can do justice and help the victims, because they are deeply affected; these are the two sides of justice: one, that paedophiles cannot be priests and the other, to help in any possible way the victims. Then, there is a pastoral level. The victims will need healing and help and assistance and reconciliation: this is a big pastoral engagement and I know that the Bishops and the priests and all Catholic people in the United States will do whatever possible to help, to assist, to heal. We have made a visitation of the seminaries and we will do all that is possible in the education of seminarians for a deep spiritual, human and intellectual formation for the students. Only sound persons can be admitted to the priesthood and only persons with a deep personal life in Christ and who have a deep sacramental life. So, I know that the Bishops and directors of seminarians will do all possible to have a strong, strong discernment because it is more important to have good priests than to have many priests. This is also our third level, and we hope that we can do and we have done and we will do in the future all that is possible to heal these wounds." * * * Responding to another question, Benedict XVI then touched upon a topic that is dear to him, that of the American model of relations between religion and politics: "What I find fascinating about the United States is that it was born with a positive concept of secularism. This new people was made up of communities and persons who had fled from state Churches, and they wanted a secular state in order to open up the possibility for all confessions to practice their religion. They were secular precisely out of love for religion, for the authenticity of religion, which can be lived only in freedom. [....] This seems fundamental and positive to me, [...] to be considered also in Europe." These are concepts that Joseph Ratzinger has expressed on a number of occasions, before and after his election as pope. The last time was last February 29, when he received at the Vatican the new United States ambassador to the Holy See, Mary Ann Glendon, a Catholic. And Benedict XVI took up these concepts again in the speech that he addressed to president George W. Bush on the morning of Wednesday, April 16, at the White House. But to understand better why Benedict XVI considers the United States an example for the whole world and above all for Europe of a positive relationship between religion and politics, it is illuminating to read this page from a book he wrote and published as cardinal in 2004, entitled "Without Roots: Europe, Relativism, Christianity, Islam:"
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