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Pope Benedict XVI says he is "deeply ashamed" of the sex abuse scandal staining the U.S. Catholic Church and is pledging to work to make sure pedophiles do not become priests.

教皇本笃说，他对玷污美国天主教会的性侵害丑闻感到“极为羞愧”。他誓言采取行动确保有虐童癖的人不会成为神父。

Speaking to reporters aboard the Alitalia airliner¹ taking him from Rome to his first papal visit to the United States, Pope Benedict says the sex scandal has caused great suffering for the church and for him personally.

教皇本笃作为第一位访问美国的罗马天主教皇在搭乘意大利航班从罗马前往美国途中对记者说，性侵害丑闻为教会和他本人造成巨大的伤害。

The pontiff says it is difficult for him to understand how priests could betray their mission to children.

教皇说，他很难理解神父怎么能够背叛他们对儿童的使命。

Benedict says he is deeply ashamed by the scandal and that pedophiles will be banned from ministry².

本笃说他对丑闻事件感到极为惭愧，并且将禁止有虐童癖的人成为神父。

This is the first visit by this pope to America and it comes after a massive scandal erupted involving sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests.

这是这位教皇第一次访问美国。此前，爆出大量涉及天主教神父对儿童进行性侵犯的丑闻。

The church has paid at least $2 billion to victims of abuse since 1950, the majority of it since 2002. Hundreds of priests have been removed.

天主教会自从1950年以来已经向受害人赔偿了20多亿美元，其中大部分是在2002年以来支付的。数百名神父被逐出教会。

Both U.S. Catholic cardinals³ and groups representing victims have recommended that the pope meet with some of the abused church members during his visit, although no such meetings have been announced.

但是，美国天主教的大主教们和代表受害人的团体提议教皇在访问美国时会见被侵害的教徒，尽管还没有宣布有这样的会见。

Helen Alvare, an associate professor of law at Catholic University, chaired a commission investigating clerical abuse.

调查神父性侵害问题的一个委员会主席、美国天主教大学法律副教授阿尔瓦说：

"One of the greatest sorrows, the greatest violations⁵, was what I would almost say was an inability to understand how deep the violation⁴ goes," she said. "As a church that speaks about the sacredness of sex, one would think that we would have had a grip on how deep that violation went for those children and the those families and we did not seem to."

“一个最大的悲哀，最严重的侵害，就是，我认为几乎可以说是不能理解这种伤害有多深。作为一个谈论性圣洁的教会，人们以为我们能够理解这种侵害造成孩子和家人的伤害程度。但我们好像没有做到这一点。”

Most Catholic dioceses in America now require criminal background checks on employees. They are also teaching parents, children and teachers how to recognize and respond to signs of abuse.

大多数在美国的主教教区现在需要对雇员进行刑事背景调查。他们还教导家长、儿童和老师如何识别和应对侵害现象。

Catholic University Provost James Brennan says the church has taken major steps to address the scandal.

天主教大学的布伦南说，教会采取了重要步骤来解决丑闻问题。

"Once the hierarchy⁶ and the church in general realized the severity of the problem, the devastation⁷ that the problem brought upon children, I think that the proactive steps that the bishops⁸ have taken to address that in a Christian⁹, loving way, has been positive," he said.

他说：“一旦各级神职人员和教会从总体上认识到问题的严重性，认识到这个问题给孩子带来的打击，我想主教采取主动措施以基督和爱的方式来解决这个问题是有积极意义的。”

A newly released poll by the Washington Post newspaper says 74 percent of American Catholics have favorable views of Pope Benedict.

华盛顿邮报新公布的一项民调显示，74%的美国天主教徒对教皇本笃有好感。

However, nearly the same number, 73 percent, say they do not approve of how the Catholic Church has handled the sex abuse scandal.

然而，几乎同样多的人，即73%的人表示他们不同意天主教会处理性侵害丑闻的方式。

While in the U.S., the pope will mark two personal milestones¹⁰. His 81st birthday is Wednesday. Saturday marks the third anniversary of his election as pontiff.