For U.S. Catholics, a Bittersweet Easter Sunday

(CBS)  A cardinal took to the Vatican stage Sunday to defend the Pope before the traditional Easter mass. But a new CBS News poll shows America's 70 million Catholics are concerned about the Pope's handling of the worldwide sex abuse scandal. Only 20 percent say the Pope is doing a good job and 55 percent rate his handling as poor. CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds has more.

For American Catholics, celebrating this Easter Sunday was a bittersweet occasion.

"You know, people are getting more and more shocked," said one worshipper, Raul Vidal.

Poll: Americans Losing Faith in Pope

The latest spate of sex abuse stories involving Catholic clergymen has unspooled just as Christians around the world are celebrating the most significant holiday on the liturgical calendar.

At St. Matthews Cathedral in Washington, worshippers had mixed emotions.

"All this is happening now is very hurtful," said Jean Rozansky, "but it is not going to shake our faith."

While many American Catholics stop short of accusing Pope Benedict himself of complicity in a church-wide cover-up of abuses, there are mounting calls for him to do more to allay concerns of the faithful.

"What the Pope needs to do is get out in front of this and explain what he knows and what he understands about this problem," said Tom Roberts of the National Catholic Reporter.

Recent disclosures in the news media have had a corrosive effect.

Critics claim the Vatican looked the other way when presented evidence of abuses such as the case of father Lawrence Murphy, who may have molested some 200 boys at a school for the deaf in the 1960s.

Court documents suggest the pope, as a leading Cardinal in the 1990s, may have slowed a canonical trial of father Murphy, who was ultimately allowed to die a priest.

To those critics, avoiding embarrassing details seems to have been paramount to the church hierarchy then - and even now.

"It could be a time of healing and they're squandering it," worshipper Tara Libert said.

But that point is debatable within the American church.

"We don't expect the Pope to be going around every single day creating new sound bites and trying to satisfy people who are never going to accept what he has to say anyway," said Raymond Flynn, former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See.

Still, the damage is evident this Easter. Father Michael Knotek is pastor of a south side Chicago parish.

"Twenty years ago, a priest would walk down the street of any major city and people would say, 'good afternoon, father,'" Knotek said. "They hardly ever do that any more."

From the pulpit to the pews, there is plenty of pain to share.

More Coverage:

Rome Waited 12 Years to Ban Ariz. Priest
Vatican Priest: Abuse Uproar Like Anti-Semitism
1963 Letter Suggests Pope Knew of Abuse
Vatican Fights to Keep Pope Out of Court
Scandal Strains Catholics' Ties to Church
Pope Opens Holy Week Amid Sex Abuse Crisis
Top Cardinal Calls for "Housecleaning"
Vatican Mounts Defense after Allegations
Vatican Strongly Defends Abuse Decision
Documents Regarding Accused Priest

[texas_liberal]

they had to cancel the world Pedophile/molester conference this year.
they were afraid a Catholic mass would break out.

[pr_boxer]

The Catholic hierarchy make the Mexican drug cartels look like pretty good guys. This isn't new, they have historically abused children,ripped off people, and covered it up. This latest scandal will cost them lots of money, but the rank and file will meekly forget , then return and continue supporting these crimminals high life style.

[Drake1065]

I don't like the way the media is ripping the Catholic Church. I was raised Catholic and was an Alter Boy in various churches that my family belonged to and no priest has ever laid a hand on me, and I have never known a priest like that. Most people join the priesthood because of their devotion to God and do good by it. And we don't need the media ripping their good name. There are more ministers in various protestant religions that are guilty in child sex abuse and I'm sure that some of those churches have also covered it up .

[cleric60]

Drake1065--perverted priests need to be punished by both church and state..evil is evil, sin is sin. priests are not above God's Law or the law of the secular/civil governments. When they break the laws against rape and sexual child abuse they should be punished by their civil/legal authorities--hiding behind the skirts of holy mother church is morally wrong. Within the Protestant churches, their ministers can't
hid and are usually turned over the secular/civil authorities.

[deohgee]

I wouldn't let my kid near that evil looking goofball in that stupid hat and garb! Holy man my a$$ !!

[formrusmcsgt]

It must be tough belonging to a cult that preys on its young.

[Dgunner]

When you step onto the catholic ground . That is is the time when you say i condone this and hope it stops. In the mean time you look up to people with fancy robes and latin speaking child rapists. The anyichridst will come riding church . It doesn't take a genius to figure what church.When you support the catholic rapist foundation for wayward priests then you supoort the raping of babies.Do you think one second that God doesn't blame you all. If you do then we must be reading different bibles. I didn't pedophiles had thier own religion until the cchicken s---t pope refused to ex communnicate the baby rapers.A lot of you think islam and musliums are bad people formblowing up and killnginnocent people.The message you send through your non action as a group is its ok to rape opur young boys as long the pope forgives the rapist and the children aren't tortured.Hey peter you rape the johnson kid and i will give you absolution but next week its my turn. I got my eyes on that little latino kid from the bronx.

[formrusmcsgt]

"What the Pope needs to do is get out in front of this and explain what he knows and what he understands about this problem," said Tom Roberts of the National Catholic Reporter.
--
No.

What is needed is a house cleaning of the pedophiles and their accomplices - but that will never happen.

[Westrogon]

It's time to remilitarize the Knights of Saint John of the Hospital of Jerusalem and let them go after these anti-Catholic pieces of vermin who are using this terrible incident to attack the church.

[AttentionDeficit]

Come and get me you papist child boinker apologist

[Westrogon]

A lot of these calls for reform are coming from people who aren't even Catholics and in some cases from outright anti-Catholic bigots like that English Arch bishop. I think we Catholics have to do whatever we decide to do, but for ourselves and not for anyone else. Under no circumstance should we allow ourselves to fall into a position where we are reacting to the scorn and bad faith advice of malevolent apostates and non-believers with an axe to grind. The church has been through a lot worse.

[AttentionDeficit]

Yeah, all of their own doing.

[cleric60]

Westrogon--calls for reform are coming from the rape victims of these perverted priest and also faithful bishops, who belong to the Church of Rome. Faithful Christians of other faith traditions are praying that this reform, will store faith and trust in the priesthood by members of the Church of Rome. Again, evil is evil and sin is sin...and even the Pope needs to confess these sins and seek God's forgiveness and those who the preverted priests abused sexually.

[ianlou]

by Super-Elmar April 4, 2010 10:13 PM EDT
Yes it seems that the enemies of the Catholic Church have whipped themselves into a frenzy over this. Still, my easter was pretty good! I know that in the long run, our enemies will pay and dearly so.
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I've written three responses to this post and erased each because they were inadequate.

Excuse me while I go barf.