Pope Benedict XVI tells bishops to fight sexual abuse

The crisis has been mishandled, the pontiff acknowledges during his visit to Washington.
By Tracy Wilkinson and Rebecca Trounson
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
April 17, 2008

WASHINGTON -- On a day filled with pageantry and prayer, Pope Benedict XVI focused Wednesday on the sexual-abuse scandal afflicting the Roman Catholic Church, offering an unflinching acknowledgment that the crisis was mishandled by church officials and that victims deserve care and compassion.

The pope, speaking to Catholic bishops at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Roman Catholic church in North America, used some of his strongest language to date to condemn the sexual-abuse scandal and its enduring damage. the rest

Pope Celebrates Mass With Message of Hope

Added: First Things: Benedict in America: As of Thursday