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(CNN) –
They may be embattled by the culture wars and bruised by the clergy sexual abuse scandal, but American bishops should not stoop to self-pity or harsh responses, Pope Francis said Wednesday.
It was the Pope’s first full day in the United States, but he made it clear, in a speech to 300 bishops in Washington, that he knows the strains his American church is under.
Millions of Catholics have fled the flock, leaving for other religions or for no religion at all. Meanwhile, the Catholic bishops have fought — and largely lost — public battles over same-sex marriage and abortion.
Referring to the clergy sexual abuse scandal, which harmed thousands of children and cost the church billions in legal settlements, Francis praised the bishops’ “courage.”
“I know how much the wounds of these last few years have weighed on your spirit, and I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims — in the knowledge that in healing we too are healed — and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated.”
But advocates for victims of clergy sexual abuse called the bishops anything but courageous.
“Almost without exception, they have shown cowardice and callousness and continue to do so now,” said Barbara Dorris of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.
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