Pope Benedict XVI has criticised US bishops for their handling of child sex scandals, saying their response to the crisis had sometimes been very poor.
He laid part of the blame for the crisis, of which he feels “deeply ashamed”, on a breakdown in US values.
On his first official US visit, the Pope said he hoped the “time of trial” would help start a Church purification.
On Thursday, the German Pontiff is due to celebrate Mass for 45,000 people at a new Washington baseball stadium.
On Wednesday morning, thousands of guests welcomed the Pope, who was 81 on Wednesday, to his first White House meeting with President George W Bush.
