Pope Assails Clergy Sexual Abuse Scandal - Updated

Pope Benedict XVI, en route from Rome to Washington, already has pledged to do all he can to prevent clergy sex abuse. And a group that advocates for victims of clergy sex abuse already has countered that his pledge doesn't go far enough.

"It's easy and tempting to continually focus on the pedophile priests themselves. It's harder but crucial to focus on the broader problem - complicity in the rest of the church hierarchy," Peter Isely said in a statement issued in behalf of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP.

Benedict's remarks, in response to a reporter's written question, were his most extensive on the subject of the clergy sexual abuse scandal in the United States. He focused his remarks on pedophile priests and, it is interesting to note, did not mention the question of priests with a homosexual orientation.

One of the Vatican's responses to the scandal has been to issue guidelines stating that bishops "cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called 'gay culture.' " Opponents objected by noting that there are many exemplary, chaste priests who have a homosexual inclination.

It remains to be seen whether Pope Benedict addresses the hierarchy's role in the scandal. But he hasn't even arrived.