Pope Benedict XVI, reviewing his recent trip to the United States, said Wednesday that he wanted to help heal the wounds from the clergy sex abuse scandal that battered the American church. The pope made atonement from the shame of the scandal a cornerstone of his American trip. He spoke out often on the scandal and prayed with victims during a stop in Washington.
Benedict returned to the subject during remarks at his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square.
"Thinking of the painful affair of the abuse of minors committed by ordained ministers, I wanted to express my closeness to the bishops, encouraging them in their commitment to bind up the wounds and reinforce relations with their priests," the pope said, speaking in Italian to the 20,000 pilgrims and tourists gathered in the square.
In his remarks in English, which did not include the reference to the sex abuse scandal, the pope underlined the importance of religion in American society.
"American society traditionally values religious freedom and the need for faith to play its part in building a sound civic life," the pope said.
In off-the-cuff remarks in his native German to the German-speaking pilgrims, the pope noted that the trip had given him renewed energy.
"I was given the opportunity to strengthen the brothers and sisters in the faith, but I too was strengthened and came back strengthened," the pope said.
The pope expressed his gratitude to those who contributed to the success of the trip and said he was moved by many of the events organized for the April 15-21 visit, from the welcome by President George W. Bush at the White House to the celebrations for the third anniversary of his pontificate April 19 during a Mass in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York.
"I will never forget it," he said in Italian.
Benedict, the third pope to visit the United Nations, said his address to the General Assembly was meant to stress the importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The pope described his visit to Ground Zero on the last day of his trip as "charged with sober silence and prayer" and said it was a "moving testimony to hope, which is stronger than evil and death."
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