Apr 16, 2008 9:41 pm US/Eastern
Pope: Sex Abuse Sometimes Badly Handled By Church
Earlier Thousands Welcomed Benedict XVI At The White House
WASHINGTON (CBS News) ―
Feted at the White House on his 81st birthday, Pope Benedict XVI
praised Americans for their deep religious beliefs Wednesday but later
told the nation's bishops that the scourge of clergy sex abuse had
sometimes been "very badly handled."
Benedict's comments, his toughest critique yet of the U.S. church's
worst problem, marked the second day in a row that he addressed the
abuse scandal. They came as he addressed the nation's bishops at the
imposing Immaculate Conception shrine.
He also reminded the prelates that religion cannot only be considered a "private matter" without any bearing on public behavior.
The pontiff questioned how Catholics could ignore church teaching
on sex, exploit or ignore the poor, or adopt positions contradiciting
"the right to life of every human being from conception to natural
death."
"Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be
resisted," he said. Benedict's remarks came on a day when all of the
five Catholic justices on the U.S. Supreme Court approved the most
widely used method of lethal injection, and congressional
representatives who support abortion rights said they planned to take
Holy Communion on Thursday at a papal Mass.
The scandal has cost the church $2 billion in settlements - a moral crisis that became a fiscal crisis, reports
CBS News correspondent Jeff Glor.
Benedict called the clergy sex abuse scandal a cause of "deep
shame." He decried the "enormous pain" that communities have suffered
from such "gravely immoral behavior" by priest.
Benedict addressed clerical molesters in the wider context of
secularism and the over-sexualization of America. "What does it mean to
speak of child protection when pornography and violence can be viewed
in so many homes through media widely available today?" he asked.
The pope spoke after Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, who is the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
George said that the consequences of the clergy abuse scandal "and
of its being sometimes very badly handled by bishops makes both the
personal faith of some Catholics and the public life of the church
herself more problematic."
Benedict agreed with that assessment.
"Responding to this situation has not been easy and, as the
president of your episcopal conference has indicated, it was sometimes
very badly handled," he said.
The German-born pope began his first full day in America with a
visit to the White House, where a South Lawn crowd of more than 13,500
sang "Happy Birthday" and President Bush said that the first papal
White House visit in 29 years was a reminder for Americans to
"distinguish between simple right and wrong."
"We need your message to reject this dictatorship of relativism and
embrace a culture of justice and truth," Bush said. "In a world where
some see freedom as simply the right to do as they wish, we need your
message that true liberty requires us to live our freedom not just for
ourselves, but in a spirit of mutual support."
The pontiff said that he was visiting "as a friend, a preacher of
the Gospel and one with great respect for this vast pluralistic
society."
His 90-minute visit to the White House — only the second ever by a
pope — was accompanied by the kind of pomp and pageantry rarely seen
even on grounds accustomed to welcoming royalty and the world's most
important leaders.
After their meeting in the Oval Office, Bush and the pope were
joined by Laura Bush, and the three "prayed for the (institution) of
the family," said Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi.
On a glorious spring day, lampposts fluttered with flags in the
red-white-and-blue of America and yellow-and-white of the Holy See. The
vast South Lawn was filled nearly to bursting with the largest crowd of
Bush's presidency, requiring a large television screen so those further
back could see.
Groups of Boy and Girl Scouts in their uniforms and members of the
Knights of Columbus wore their traditional brightly colored feather
headgear. Thousands unable to get inside filled Washington's streets as
well, playing music and waving banners as they waited for a hoped-for
glimpse of the pontiff passing by later in his popemobile.
Benedict was greeted by Bush and his wife. The two men strolled
along a red carpet to a platform on the lawn, and sat side-by-side as
the Marine Band played the national anthem of the Holy See while a
21-gun salute sprayed gray smoke into the air.
Famed American soprano Kathleen Battle sang "The Lord's Prayer."
The U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps marched by, dressed in
colonial garb.
Benedict seemed genuinely moved as "Happy Birthday" was sung.
Later, at a private lunch with American cardinals at the Vatican
Embassy, the pope was shown in a photo released by the Vatican standing
before a four-tier white cake with a single candle atop it.
The South Lawn arrival ceremony was followed by 45 minutes of private talks between Bush and Benedict alone in the Oval Office.
It was the 25th meeting between the leader of the world's Roman
Catholic and a U.S. president, sessions that have spanned 89 years,
five pontiffs and 11 American leaders.
Bush and Benedict agreed Wednesday that terrorism is an
unacceptable weapon for any cause or religion. They also share common
ground in opposing terrorism, abortion, gay marriage and embryonic stem
cell research.
But they disagree over the war in Iraq, the death penalty and the
U.S. trade embargo against Cuba. Benedict also speaks for environmental
protection and social welfare in ways that run counter to Bush
policies.
A joint U.S.-Holy See statement hinted that Benedict brought up his
concerns about the damage caused by punitive immigration laws. It said
the leaders discussed "the need for a coordinated policy regarding
immigration, especially their humane treatment and the well being of
their families."
On Iraq, discussion steered away from the war itself to focus
primarily on worries for the Christian minority in the Muslim-majority
country, said White House press secretary Dana Perino.
"The two reaffirmed their total rejection of terrorism as well as
the manipulation of religion to justify immoral and violent acts
against innocents," the statement said.
It also said the leaders "touched on the need to confront terrorism
with appropriate means that respect the human person and his or her
rights," a reference Perino could not explain. Benedict has been
critical of harsh interrogation methods, telling a meeting of the
Vatican's office for social justice last September that, while a
country has an obligation to keep its citizens safe, prisoners must
never be demeaned or tortured.
ALSO SEE:
U.S. Welcomes Pope Benedict XVI
Looking Back: Pope John Paul II's U.S. Visits
Pope Benedict XVI's Papacy Faces Modern World
Pope John Paul II Dies, Succeeded By Benedict XVI
Web Extra Video: Thousands Greet Washington D.C. Parade
Web Extra Video: Pope Welcomed At White House
Web Extra Video: Pope's 'Shepherd One' Plane Arrives In U.S.
More Papal Visit Coverage
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