Aquila challenged that supposition, telling CNA that Catholics have been most emphatically angry about child abuse in the Church, and eager to see it excised.
Nevertheless, he said that archdiocesan leaders will discuss how best to implement the report's recommendations.
But Aquila told CNA that in his view, the culture of the Church has changed considerably in recent decades, which makes clerical sexual abuse far less likely than it was in the 1960s and 1970s, when it peaked in Colorado.
"With all of the screening that we do today, for men entering seminaries, and even ongoing screening that we do while they are in the seminary… we are really forming priests who are healthy, who can live chaste celibate lives, and also helping people to see that they can live virtuously, and that we are called to live virtuously," he said.
"The formation of today is much different than it was 30, 40, 50 years ago," the archbishop added.
"There was a certain rigidity back in those years that never really looked at the true call to holiness...There was no intimacy with Jesus Christ, no personal relationship with Jesus, and when you read the lives of the saints you see how evident that personal relationship was in their lives."
In the 1960s and 1970s, Aquila said, "many within the Church had a very superficial understanding of the power and authority of Christ ... There was a real malformation of the human person, and of the men becoming priests."
"They did not hear clearly the call to holiness and intimacy with Christ, and trust in his promises."
Aquila said that along with ensuring psychological health, encouraging spiritual health among priests is critical to eradicating sexual abuse in the Church.
"I am totally convinced of the teaching of John Paul II on the theology of the body, and I really believe that that has helped the Church to understand the true meaning of the dignity of the human body and the understanding of human sexuality," he said.
"When I look at the priests who have committed abuse, my first question is 'how could a man who has been called to serve Christ, and to be Christ in the midst of his people, ever do this kind of an act?'"
Acknowledging the effects of clericalism and the problem of the abuse of power, Aquila said he believes it important to ask a more fundamental question regarding abusive priests:
"'Did you take your call seriously? And did you know your identity as a beloved son of the Father?' Because if I know my true identity as a beloved son of the Father, I would never, ever do something like that."
He said that priestly formation must have an "emphasis on faith, which was totally superficial when we were being formed … It's through the gift of faith, and living that, and receiving that, that I will live a moral life. And be happy," the archbishop said.
Regarding priestly formation, "What you really want to root everything in is the dignity of the human person," Aquila said.
"God makes us to be in relationship with others and with him. But the first and primary relationship has to be with Jesus Christ, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. They must always come first. The very food of the priest is the food that Jesus lived, to do the will of the Father."
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Colorado's attorney general Paul Weiser said the report documents a "dark and painful history."
"It's unimaginable, and the most painful part for me is we have had stories told of victims coming forward and they weren't supported. We can't make up for that. What we can do is build a culture that, going forward, when people come forward and tell their stories they are supported," Weiser added.
Aquila agreed. Acknowledging the wrongdoing of the past is important, he said, as is seeking forgiveness.
"We must learn from the suffering of the victims and never assume that we could not face another perpetrator in our midst. Just in the last few years it has become even more apparent that perpetrators infect every organization, the Boy Scouts, the public schools, the Olympics, news organizations, colleges-these abusers can manifest in every part of our lives if we are not alert and responsive. We, more than any organization in this Country, know we must be vigilant," he wrote to Catholics Oct. 23.
In an Oct. 23 statement, Colorado Springs Bishop Michael Sheridan wrote that "one victim of the horrific crime of child sexual abuse is too many; the Diocese of Colorado Springs must own the consequences of having three. One predator priest is too many; the Diocese of Colorado Springs must recognize and repent of two."
"Mr. Troyer's investigation found that the latest of these incidents occurred around 1986. With Archbishop Aquila and Bishop Berg, I commit on behalf of this Diocese to fully embrace and implement each and every recommendation made by" the report.
Pueblo Bishop Stephen Berg's statement said "I want to assure everyone that since the early 1990s, one decade before the Dallas Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People was introduced, the Diocese of Pueblo has promoted healing and put into place procedures meant to ensure a safe environment for our children. We have mandated a zero tolerance policy, removing any priest or minister for any act of sexual misconduct with a minor. We immediately report any suspected child abuse to law enforcement and cooperate fully with them."
Berg continued: "If we are to truly reform the Church we must begin again and always with our unique and primary mission as Catholics to proclaim Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God, as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. As we now enter into the holy season of Christmas, let us all carefully consider the precious gifts which God has given each of us: our lives, our families, our children, our neighbors, our Church and our Faith. Let us be thankful for all who have worked over years to protect and heal the Little Ones among us. In purposeful outreach to those innocent victims who have been grievously harmed, let us pray for our Church leadership to firmly take the next steps to end all facets of this tragedy."