VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI says the Catholic Church must reflect on what is wrong with its message and with Christian life in general that allowed for the widespread sexual abuse of children by priests.
Benedict said the church must better train priests so that such abuses never occur again and must figure out how to help victims heal.
The pope made the remarks Monday to Vatican cardinals and bishops gathered for his traditional Christmas speech, an eagerly anticipated addresses that he uses to press key issues he wants the church hierarchy to reflect on.
While stressing that many priests do good work, Benedict said revelations of abuse in 2010 reached “an unimaginable dimension” that required the church to accept the “humiliation” as a call for renewal.
