Pope says abuse scandals 'devastating'
VATICAN CITY, Italy, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI says the ongoing sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church had reached an unimaginable dimension, and the Church must take action.
In a Christmas message, the pope said the church must reflect on its failures, help the victims, and prevent potential pedophiles from becoming priests, The New York Times reported Monday.
"We must ask ourselves what we can do to repair as much as possible the injustice that transpired," the pope's message said. "We must ask ourselves what went wrong in our message, in our entire way of being Christians, so that such a thing could have occurred."
He and the Catholic Church were "devastated" by the extent of child abuse by priests, the pope said, and expressed his gratitude to those priests who helped the victims of the abuse, the ANSA news agency reported.
The Vatican has said it is developing guidelines for bishops around the world on how to handle abuse cases, including reporting incidents of abuse to civil authorities in countries where it is required.
"We are aware of the particular gravity of this sin committed by priests and our corresponding responsibility," the pope said.
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