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	Repentance and Renewal San Francisco Chronicle April 21, 2008 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/20/EDR1108SKL.DTL Even before he reached American soil, Pope Benedict signaled that he was carrying a message of reflection, contrition and outreach. The pope took on the darkest issue facing the church in the United States - child sexual abuse scandals involving priests - with reporters on the plane ride from Rome. He came back to it again and again during his visit, expressing his profound regret for "so much suffering." In Washington, he even met with a group of victims from the Boston Archdiocese. The pope's words could never repair the broken lives of that awful history, reclaim the millions of dollars lost on settlements or fully assuage the enduring outrage by people within and outside the church who were frustrated by years of high-level denial about the magnitude of the damage. The strong messages from the Vatican will help the church move forward. As the pope said, it is far more important to have "good priest than to have many priests." The pope also came with messages about the humane and respectful treatment of immigrants, which is not only a matter of morality and consistency with Roman Catholic teaching, but also a matter of practicality for a church whose U.S. membership includes an increasing number of newcomers to the country. Latinos account for an estimated 18 percent of the 65 million Roman Catholics in the United States. Not surprisingly, the pope's words about immigrants drew criticism from factions that play on resentment toward them, most notably Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., who made it a central theme of his presidential campaign. He was quoted as saying it was not in the pope's "job description to engage in American politics." It is not - and the pope did not offer any specific guidance on what Congress should do with immigration legislation or create an litmus tests for a church-approved political position. Instead, he laid out a broad moral framework about how Americans should think about the immigrants themselves - particularly his concern for the preservation of families. On Sunday, before celebrating Mass at Yankee Stadium, the pope visited the site of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorism attacks on the World Trade Center. He reminded the gathered survivors, clergy and public officials that people of many faiths lost their lives at the "scene of incredible violence and pain." On Friday, the former Hitler youth visited a New York synagogue. Humility and healing were themes throughout the pope's historic, poignant and productive trip to the United States.
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