Pope In U.S. For Historic Visit

President Bush Greets Benedict XVI For His First Papal Visit To The United States

(CBS/AP)  Pope Benedict XVI stepped onto U.S. soil for the time as pontiff Tuesday, arriving to a presidential handshake and wild cheering only hours after he admitted that he is "deeply ashamed" of the clergy sex abuse scandal that has devastated the American church.

Benedict gave hundreds of spectators a two-handed wave as he stepped off a special Alitalia airliner that brought him from Rome. Students from a local Catholic school screamed ecstatically when they saw the pope, who shook hands warmly with President Bush, first lady Laura Bush and their daughter Jenna on the tarmac.

Hundreds of onlookers, some from local Roman Catholic parishes, clapped and shouted as they watched the scene from nearby bleachers.

Benedict tackled the most painful issue facing the U.S. Catholic Church - clergy sex abuse - on his flight to America. The U.S. church has paid out $2 billion in abuse costs since 1950, most of that in just the last six years.

Seemingly in a nod to his American flock, the pope spoke in English as he answered questions submitted in advance by reporters.

"It is a great suffering for the church in the United States and for the church in general and for me personally that this could happen," Benedict said. "It is difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betray in this way their mission ... to these children."

"I am deeply ashamed, and we will do what is possible so this cannot happen again in the future," the pope said.

Benedict pledged that pedophiles would not be priests in the Catholic Church.

"I do not wish to talk at this moment about homosexuality, but about pedophilia, which is another thing," he said.

"We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry. It is more important to have good priests than many priests. We will do everything possible to heal this wound."

Gary Bergeron, who was molested by a priest in the 1970s in Lowell, Mass., called the comments a "step I've been looking for." Bergeron said he was disappointed that Benedict did not plan to visit the Archdiocese of Boston, the scene of a case that sparked the greater scandal, but urged the pontiff to meet with victims this week.

The pope's promise failed to mollify other advocates for abuse victims, however. They said the problem is not just molester priests, but bishops and other church authorities who have let errant clergymen continue to serve even after repeated allegations.

"It's easy and tempting to continually focus on the pedophile priests themselves," said Peter Isely, a board member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "It's harder but crucial to focus on the broader problem - complicity in the rest of the church hierarchy."

Benedict's pilgrimage is the first trip by a pontiff to the United States since the Boston case in 2002 triggered a crisis that spread throughout the United States and beyond. Hundreds of new charges - many dating back decades - have surfaced each year since. There were 691 new accusations in 2007 alone, according to an annual report from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

As head of the Vatican agency that enforces adherence to Catholic doctrine, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was heavily involved in gaining Vatican approval for the reforms U.S. bishops proposed for the American church. The bishops have since released several reports analyzing the scandal and have pledged that all credibly accused priests will be pulled from public ministry.

Benedict described his pilgrimage as a journey to meet a "great people and a great church." He spoke about the American model of religious values within a system of separation of church and state.

Over the next six days, the pope will see for himself an American Roman Catholic Church in the midst of dramatic change.

Today there are approximately 17,000 fewer Catholic priests in the U.S. than there were in 1965, reports CBS News correspondent Byron Pitts. As a result, of the nearly 19,000 parishes nationwide, more than 3,200 are without a resident pastor. 800 parishes closed since 1995, and more than 1,200 parochial schools shut down since 2001.

President Bush made the unusual gesture of greeting Benedict at Andrews Air Force Base - the first time he has welcomed a foreign leader there. The two will meet again Wednesday, when a crowd of up to 12,000 is expected at the White House to greet Benedict on his 81st birthday.

Aides say he is in good health and the pope seemed spry as he stepped energetically off the plane Tuesday.

Benedict said he will discuss immigration with Bush, including the difficulties of families who are separated by immigration.

While the pope and Bush differ on such major issues on the Iraq war, capital punishment and the U.S. embargo against Cuba, they do find common ground in opposing abortion, gay marriage and embryonic stem cell research.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said she wouldn't rule out the sex abuse coming up in conversation between the pope and the president, but added that it's not necessarily one of Bush's top priorities in his meeting with Benedict.

Perino said the two leaders would likely discuss human rights, religious tolerance and the fight against violent extremism. She downplayed their differences over Iraq.

Benedict "will hear from the president that America and the world need to hear his message, that God is love, that human life is sacred, that we all must be guided by common moral law, and that we have responsibilities to care for our brothers and sisters in need, at home and across the world," Perino said.

After making little headway in his efforts to rekindle the faith in his native Europe, the German-born Benedict is visiting a country where many of the 65 million Catholics are eager to hear what he says and get to know him. A poll released Sunday by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University found eight in 10 Catholics are somewhat or very satisfied with his leadership.

[newsterl]

Show respect. Just like you want respect, show respect to others or keep your anti catholic thoughts to yourself.

Posted by ndjam
------------

Well, lets see, facts. Hmmm. The Inquisition. The Crusades. Two biggies that are common knowledge.

I can hook you up with some reputable history links of Catholic Atrocities in the 2nd and 3rd Century and the subsequent trail that goes all the way through to the Modern Pedophilia Perversion Movement within the Church. Do you really want this? Because I can do it for you....

Posted by FloydZepp

SKREW that ndjam! that religion doesnt deserve one iota of respect- NONE for it''s atrocities, mass murder and violence. Like Floyd says above- you sure you wanna go down that expose'' route starting with the crusades, inquisition, reformation, witch burning, heresy/blasphemy trials/jailings, hangings and concluding with the pedo scandals?
Its no better then extremist muslims are today, the only difference is the specific deity, methods and about 500 years time.
Maybe 500 years from now the muslisavages will be where christians are today and christianity will all be DEAD

[lindaredtail]

There''s a lot of name calling going on this morning. I think what we really need to do is reject extremism in all of its forms. There are extremists in every faith. Then there are the secular extremists like Hugo Chavez. The Catholic Church has its problems. Serious ones. But the world has a more serious problem right now with religious extremists from every faith. That includes Pope Benedict and George Bush. The End Times that involve the anit-christ are a self fulfilling prophecy that we need to reject. A Pope that believes that the indigenous peoples of South America benefited from European contact needs to be rejected. Moderation and reason needs to be the journey we take.

[rob416]

A crowd of 12,000 showing up at The White House today to clebrate the Popes Birthday. I ask you can Bush throw a bash? Too bad he can''t conduct a War or lead a Nation. Not to worry, when he leaves office he can become a party planner. I just hope the President has enough folding chairs to seat the large crowd invited to the party.

[juwboy]

The Pope claims he is "ashamed" of child abuse by Catholic priests.

Who is his right-hand man, in the position formerly occupied by the head of the Inquisition?

Cardinal Levaida, the former Archbishop of San Francisco during the child-abuse scandal in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1990s.

What did Levaida do about the problem then?

Absolutely nothing.

Child abusing priests were merely transferred from urban to isolated rural parishes in his archdiocese.

The District Attorney''s Office investigating complaints from abused children was faced with a wall-of-silence, obstructionist tactics and total contempt -- no co-operation whatsoever.

One of the Deputy DA''s assigned to some of the cases described the San Francisco Catholic hierarchy as the most evil people he''d ever had to deal with -- worse than any gang members or organised crime figures.

[ndjam]

damnedrelign- I dont care one bit what your religion is. I also dont give a s**t who your spiritual leader is. But dont go giving your bigoted thoughts here without stating facts. Show respect. Just like you want respect, show respect to others or keep your anti catholic thoughts to yourself.

[newsterl]

I welcome Pope Benedict XVI to the U.S. This man is a great human being who will bring peace and love on earth. He is a man of God and my spiritual leader. Peace be with all.

Posted by ndjam

You WOULD, a right wing backwards thinking idiot he is who tells people NOT to use birth control- might interfere with the lard''s ''plan'' LOL as if a god is going to let some weak idiots on a planet interfere with his ''plan''

[rushlimpdrug]

I welcome Pope Benedict XVI to the U.S. This man is a great human being who will bring peace and love on earth. He is a man of God and my spiritual leader. Peace be with all.
Posted by ndjam at 10:50 PM

Ah, yeah, right, and he will turn water to wine, and with two loaves of fish, he''ll feed the poor.

[rushlimpdrug]

Overheard:
"Soo were are those cute American boys?"

"Skrew Haiti, show me those cute American boys?"

"Bush, you will show me where Bill got it on with Monica, right?"

[ndjam]

I welcome Pope Benedict XVI to the U.S. This man is a great human being who will bring peace and love on earth. He is a man of God and my spiritual leader. Peace be with all.

[newsterl]

Magical indeed. Someday people might worship something real, like earth, instead of destroying it.

Posted by Displeased

Paganism comes into that area already, though Im not sure you can call it a worship which implies bending down on knees and so on.

[marcosis78]

Pope Palpatine I

[nordeck52]

Palpatine himself has arrived. We''re all doomed!!

[displeased]

Magical indeed. Someday people might worship something real, like earth, instead of destroying it.

[marcosis78]

Didnt the Pope declare it a sin to widen the gap between the rich and poor???

Isnt Bush the sole instigator of that? This is like an angel meeting the devil.

[newsterl]

Who''''s zod?

Posted by Displeased at 08:57 PM : Apr 15, 2008


zod is my pet name for the magical moron these people claim created everything, I refuse to capital the names or use them- they are as curse words to me.

[newsterl]

And why are popes always old and frail? They should try appointing a younger one that doesn''''t have all that white air.

Posted by Displeased


Because they want to keep stuffy old farts in there, a younger guy might actually- HORRORS!!- change things from their 15th century mentality.

[displeased]

Who''s zod?

[displeased]

Yeah, mental counseling!

[veteran72]

Two old Nazis reunited,.....*sniff*...Good times.....

[newsterl]

The majority of us--in the millions upon millions--KNOW that He is the Son of zod, who came down from Heaven, lived in the flesh, died for our sins...
Posted by rushman71


Yeah yeah, like someone else said- the same crowd believed the earth was FLAT and you could fall off the horizon, the same crowd believed the entire universe revolved around the earth once every 24 hours! With Pluto no doubt exceeding the speed of light by a factor of a few hundred to make that distance in one day.