Sexual-abuse scandals rocking the Roman Catholic church are "dramatic exceptions" to the good work done by most priests, the archbishop of Canada's largest archdiocese said Sunday. In a pastoral message delivered to churchgoers across the archdiocese, Thomas Collins said the clergy and lay people should not be discouraged by the seemingly endless stream of victims.
"These scandals are dramatic exceptions to the fundamental reality of priestly goodness, for almost all priests serve faithfully," Collins said.
"But just one priest gone wrong causes great suffering, and as we hear of evil done by some clergy in our own communities and around the world, we are all filled with dismay."
The pastoral message was given to priests to deliver as the homily at Sunday mass in all 225 parishes of the Toronto archdiocese, which is home to 1.9 million Catholics.
Mary Lozowsky, of Brampton, Ont., said she was encouraged by what she heard, particularly Collins' admission the church had "failed."
He didn't try to blame the victims, she said.
"There was no counter-attack in this -- it was not a defensive response," Lozowsky said.
"I thought it was honest."
Also Sunday, Pope Benedict met a group of clerical sex-abuse victims in Malta.
The pontiff promised them the church would do everything in its power to bring justice to victims and protect young people in the future.
Benedict also expressed shame and sorrow at the pain the men suffered, the Vatican said.
Among allegations that have emerged in recent weeks was that the diocese of Pembroke in eastern Ontario conspired with the Vatican to cover up sex-abuse accusations.
In that case, a letter from the bishop of the diocese written in 1993 indicated a church official -- later jailed in Ontario -- was promoted to a top Vatican post despite knowing about several complaints about his conduct.
Collins called the situation "painful" as he acknowledged the impact of the scandals on the church.
"It seems that not a day has gone by in recent weeks without hearing of Catholic priests who have sexually abused those entrusted to their care, or of the failure of their superiors to deal rightly with that," he said.
"In the face of this constant criticism, Catholic clergy and lay people alike can feel discouraged, angry, confused, and ashamed."
However, he noted that much of the abuse happened many years ago, and said measures have been put in place to make the church safer.
At the same time, he said, his archdiocese is looking to update its protocols -- first introduced in 1989 -- to deal with accusations of misconduct.
He said he would be asking a group of lay people experienced in youth, psychology, legal issues and ethics to recommend changes to make the protocol more effective.
In addition, he said, priests and others involved in pastoral service in the archdiocese will gather this fall to discuss more fully about how to best respond to sexual abuse in the Church and in society.
Lozowsky said she was pleased the church is talking about ways to prevent future abuse and cover-ups of complaints.
The Toronto archdiocese put a video of Collins' message on its website along with text copies translated in five languages so it would be as accessible as possible, a spokesman said.
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