Pope John Paul II, breaking his silence on a wave of child abuse scandals involving the Church, said this afternoon that Catholic priests abusing minors were carrying out the worst form of evil possible.
Writing in his yearly letter to priests, the Pope said recent grave scandals had cast a "dark shadow of suspicion" over the entire Church and on honest priests the world over.
"As priests we are personally and profoundly afflicted by the sins of some of our brothers who have betrayed the grace of ordination in succumbing even to the most grievous forms of the mystery of evil at work in the world," he said.
The Pope has spoken out against paedophilia before but his words were eagerly awaited in the United States, where the scandals have touched two of the most senior cardinals - Bernard Law of Boston and Edward Egan of New York.
Both men, accused by critics of mishandling abuse cases, were appointed by the Pope, who is said to hold them in high esteem.
This time, the Pontiff addressed the issue in one paragraph of the 22-page letter, and did not use the word paedophilia.
But Vatican sources said the comments were a clear response to demands that he speak out about scandals, particularly in the United States, where the Church is accused of concealing them.
The Pope said the Catholic Church wanted to show its concern for victims and to "respond in truth and justice to each of these painful situations."
"Grave scandal is caused, with the result that a dark shadow of suspicion is cast over all the fine priests who perform their ministry with honesty and integrity and often with heroic self-sacrifice," he said.
The Pope said priests had to overcome human weakness by committing themselves more fully to the search for holiness.