pop ashamed by sex abuse from priests

Pope Benedict XVI, who turned 81 yesterday, was greeted at Andrews Air Force Base on Tuesday by President Bush, his wife Laura and his daughter Jenna. The pope began his first visit to the United States by addressing an issue that has wounded the Catholic Church in the US, telling reporters on his aircraft that the sexual abuse of children has caused great suffering ”for the church and him "personally.” The scandal has produced thousands of sexual abuse victims and about 5,000 accused priests since it erupted in 2002 and has cost the church more than $2 billion in settlements. “I would not speak at this moment about homosexuality, but pedophilia, which is another thing. And we would absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry,” said the pope. Benedict XVI is not new to issues involving abusive priests. As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he headed the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and was responsible for deciding whether to discipline priests accused of sexual abuse.