By Prensa Latina,
Washington : Pope Benedict XVI has urged US Catholics to “foster healing and reconciliation” in the wake of the child-abuse scandal involving priests.
In a sermon during a mass he celebrated at the new Washington Nationals baseball stadium before nearly 45,000 people on Thursday, the Pope said to have seen obvious signs of polarization in the US society and referred to the child-abuse scandal involving the Catholic Church in this country.
“We see clear signs of a disturbing breakdown in the very foundations of society: signs of alienation, anger and polarization on the part of many of our contemporaries; increased violence; a weakening of the moral sense; a coarsening of social relations; and a growing forgetfulness of God.”
Regarding the child-abuse scandal, he said “No words of mine can describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse.”
According to reports from the Church, about 4,000 priests have been involved in the scandal, with five dioceses declaring bankrupt after having to pay $2.40 billion in compensation to victims.
This is the firs of two masses Benedict XVI is expected to give in his trip to the US, running until Sunday.
He arrived to the US on Tuesday and was welcomed at the airport by President George W. Bush, the first time the latter has such gesture or a visitor in his more than seven years in power.
In his visit to the White House on Wednesday, the Pope urged Bush to pursue “patient diplomacy to resolve conflicts” and urged for turning the UN into the voice of the peoples around the world.