Pope in Malta: Church 'wounded by our sins'

Luga, Malta --tPope Benedict XVI alluded to the sexual abuse crisis only briefly and indirectly during his short flight from Rome to Malta this afternoon, with a reference to how the church is “wounded by our sins,” but its gospel remains “the true force that purifies and heals.”

Benedict XVI is visiting Malta April 17-18, marking the 1,950th anniversary of St. Paul’s famous shipwreck on the small Mediterranean island described in the Acts of the Apostles. Like many parts of the Catholic world, Malta has recently been rocked by a local sex abuse scandal, and Benedict arrives facing questions about his own handling of sex abuse cases both in Germany and in the Vatican.

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[John Allen is NCR senior correspondent. His e-mail address is jallen@ncronline.org.]