A day after acknowledging the church\u2019s responsibility for the sexual abuse crisis, Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday traveled to this popular pilgrim shrine and prayed for priests not to fall short of their \u201csublime vocation\u201d\u009d or \u201csuccumb to the temptations of the evil one.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
In his most direct remarks on the issue to date, Benedict on Tuesday called the abuse crisis \u201ctruly terrifying\u201d\u009d and said that \u201cforgiveness is not a substitute for justice,\u201d\u009d a reference to efforts to hold clergy accountable for the sexual abuse of minors.<\/p>\n
After weeks in which Vatican officials had blamed the media and outside critics for the crisis, the pope\u2019s remarks were the first since the sexual abuse crisis began to indicate that the seemingly parallel narratives of the Vatican\u2019s perception of the situation and the perception of many victims and critics appeared to converge.<\/p>\n
It was Benedict\u2019s first visit as pope to a shrine that was particularly meaningful to his predecessor, John Paul II, and the current pope sought to broaden its significance, to help the church overcome its current difficulties.<\/p>\n