Pope Benedict XVI, en route from Rome, didn't wait to arrive at Andrews Air Force Base this afternoon to address the clergy sexual abuse scandal that has caused so much turmoil for the Catholic Church in America. Victor Simpson, The AP's long-time Rome bureau chief, reports from Shepherd One that Pope Benedict told reporters on the flight that he'll do all he can to prevent pedophiles from becoming priests.
Benedict told the reporters traveling with him that he is "deeply ashamed" of the scandal.
"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. "It is difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betray in this way their mission ... to these children."
Simpson reports that the pope also said, "I am deeply ashamed and we will do what is possible so this cannot happen again in the future."
A quick comment: I've found that one of the reasons Pope John Paul II's trips were so successful was that he saw and addressed the suffering of the people he visited. In one memorable trip I reported on for Newsday, his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 2000, he visited the Western Wall; Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust memorial; and a Palestinian refugee camp in Bethlehem. Each event was an occasion for John Paul to witness the suffering of the people he visited.
By addressing the clergy sexual abuse scandal from the start of his journey to America, Benedict took heed of the disillusion, anger and suffering the scandal has caused here.
Benedict is scheduled to arrive at 4 p.m.
- Paul Moses
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
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1 comments:
Yeah, Pope. I too am ashamed of the far too many priests who need the comfort of the private parts of little boys. What's up with that?
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