Pope John Paul II today broke his silence on sex-abuse cases in the Catholic Church, saying the "grave scandal" was casting a "dark shadow of suspicion" over all priests.
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Pope John Paul II
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In an annual message to priests worldwide, the Pope said "as priests we are personally and profoundly afflicted by the sins of some of our brothers who have betrayed the grace of ordination".
He said they had succumbed "to the most grievous forms" of what he called, using the Latin phrase, "mystery of evil".
"Grave scandal is caused, with the result that a dark shadow of suspicion is cast over all the other fine priests who perform their ministry with honesty and integrity and often with heroic self-sacrifice," the Pope said.
He said the church "shows her concern for the victims and strives to respond in truth and justice to each of these painful situations".
It was the first time the Pope publicly addressed the issue since wide-scale accusations of sexual misconduct by priests surfaced in recent months.
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In January, the Catholic Church in Ireland agreed to a landmark €128 million payment to children abused by clergy over decades. More than 20 priests, brothers and nuns have been convicted of molesting children.
The accusations have led to the resignation of one US bishop, from Palm Beach, Florida, and tarnished the reputation of Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston for failing to take action against a child-molesting priest.
Sexual abuse cases involving cover-ups have also been reported in England, France and Australia, among other countries.
For years, the Vatican viewed such reports as attempts to discredit the church or as part of a campaign against celibacy.
AP