Apr 16, 2008 12:33 am US/Eastern
Pope To See Damage Caused By Sex Scandals
U.S. Catholic Church Has 17,000 Less Priests Than In 1965
WASHINGTON (CBS) ―
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Pope Benedict XVI waves to the crowd as he walks with President George W. Bush after arriving in the United States on April 15, 2008, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
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Pope Benedict XVI arriving at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland
Win McNamee/Getty Images
The sex abuse scandal that has been festering for a number of years has driven many people away from the church. Fully aware of that, the pope spoke of the crisis during his plane trip to the U.S. on Tuesday.
"We are deeply ashamed and we will do all that is possible that this cannot happen in the future," the pope said.
To many, his words were very encouraging, especially for Joseph Byrnes, a victim of sex abuse by a priest and now a member of The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a victims' support group.
"It can't end there," Byrnes said. "There has to be two main things: Action and accountability."
The crisis has cost the church almost $2 billion. There have been more than 5,000 alleged victims. Five dioceses have gone bankrupt. During his visit to the U.S., the pope will see firsthand that the American Roman Catholic Church is experiencing a sweeping change.
"The number of Catholic priests in this country over 90 exceeds the number under 30," said Paul Lakeland, chairman of the department of religious studies at Fairfield University.
The aging priesthood is also a shrinking one. Today there are approximately 17,000 fewer Catholic priests in the U.S. than there were in 1965.
"You might pinpoint the sex abuse scandal and when it became public as a cause of that tremendous drop which cause about 4 million parishioners lost weekly as a result of that," said Catholic University professor William D'Antonio.
Still, the pope's message, especially for young people, is one of hope.
"That's really something that is empowering for me, the message of hope," student Michael Beard said. "And just seeing the leader of the Catholic faith, coming here takes strength."
The pope hopes to connect with young people. One of the places he hopes to do that is in Yonkers at St. Joseph's Seminary on Saturday.
The pope will be at Catholic University in Washington on Wednesday.
Stay with wcbstv.com and CBS 2 for live on-air and online video coverage of the pope's visit in America.
Click here for complete coverage of the papal visit.
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Pope Benedict XVI Visits America
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