Pope Benedict XVI today (May 11, 2010) blamed the church's own sins for the clerical abuse scandal, and called for profound purification to end what he called the "greatest persecution" the church has endured.
His strong comments placed the blame for the crisis squarely on the sins of pedophile priests, in sharp contrast to the Vatican's initial response to the scandal, in which it blamed the media, according to the Guardian (British) website.
Speaking en route to Portugal, the pontiff said the Catholic Church had always suffered from problems of its own making, but that "today we see it in a truly terrifying way."
He said, "The greatest persecution of the church does not come from enemies on the outside," but is born from the sins within the church. The church needs to profoundly relearn penitence, accept purification, learn forgiveness but also justice."
The pope's four-day visit to Portugal -- which began today -- will take him from Lisbon to the revered shrine at Fatima and Portugal's second city -- Porto.
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