Aboard the papal plane, Sep 16, 2010 / 04:41 am
The Pope has expressed his "shock” and "great sadness" due to sexual abuses by members of clergy. Victims of abuse must be given priority as the Church takes on pedophilia, he said, and perpetrators must be "excluded" from access to children.
The Holy Father addressed abuse in the Church during an in-flight press conference as he traveled from Rome to Edinburgh, Scotland on Thursday morning. Speaking to about 70 reporters, writers and photographers, the Pope answered several questions.
Included among them was one reporter's question about how trust in the Church might be reestablished after a recent poll was released showing that U.K. faithful are struggling to view the Church in a positive light.
"First of all," said the Pope, "I must say that these revelations were a shock for me, they are a great sadness. It's difficult to understand how these perversions of the priestly ministry were possible."