Quote:as seen on cnn.com:

Cardinals discuss sex abuse crisis
April 24, 2002 Posted: 6:41 AM EDT (1041 GMT)

VATICAN CITY -- U.S. cardinals and Vatican officials are debating how the Catholic Church should handle priests who have molested children.

The meeting comes a day after Pope John Paul II issued his strongest statement yet about the sex abuse crisis, saying such activity was a "crime" and priests who had abused children had done "great harm".

The credibility of the Catholic Church in the US has been damaged following accusations it transferred priests known to have molested children instead of suspending them and informing the police.

The two-day Vatican conference, which reopened on Wednesday, is expected to issue guidelines later on how to deal with priests accused of sexual abuse.

Comments made earlier in the unprecedented meeting between Pope John Paul II and 12 of the 13 U.S. Cardinals point to a "zero tolerance" policy being adopted.

Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles said: "(The pope) is being as clear as he can be. There is no place for abusers in the priesthood, whatsoever. You can convert hearts and offer reconciliation but you can't reassign them (paedophile priests)."

Any guidelines will be to be discussed by U.S. bishops at a meeting in June.

Some church officials say they fear the pope's comments could spark a "witch hunt" in the Roman Catholic Church, including among the gay community.

Estimates of the number of homosexuals among seminarians and the 46,075 Roman Catholic clergy in the United States vary dramatically, from 10 percent to 50 percent.

Christopher Bellitto, a church historian and academic editor of The Paulist Press in New Jersey, said homosexual clergy have told him they are terrified they will be made scapegoats as the scandal drags on.

"There is a real fear among gay priests that they are going to be seen as the fall guys," Bellitto said.

The pope, in an opening address to the cardinals on Tuesday, said there was no room in the priesthood for clergy who hurt young people.

He said: "The abuse which has caused this crisis is by every standard wrong and rightly considered a crime by society: it is also an appalling sin in the eyes of God."

The pope, who said he was "deeply grieved" by the scandal, said sex abusers could not be allowed to hide in the priesthood.

"People need to know that there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young."

Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles interpreted the comments as an endorsement of zero-tolerance for errant clergy. Others have called this the "one strike and you're out" policy.

The pope also acknowledged mistakes had been made in the handling of the U.S. priest sexual abuse scandals.

He also said the church itself would emerge from the "present crisis" more firmly rooted in faith.

"It is true that a generalised lack of knowledge of the nature of the problem and also at times the advice of clinical experts led bishops to make decisions which subsequent events showed to be wrong," the pope said.

"You are now working to establish more reliable criteria to ensure that these criteria are not repeated."

Catholics should "be confident that this time of trial will bring a purification of their Catholic community," the pope said, "a purification that is urgently needed if the church is to preach more effectively the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all its liberating force."

The discussions are taking place at the Apostolic Palace, the pope's elaborate office and home within the Vatican complex.

Twelve of the 13 U.S. cardinals, including all eight of the archbishops who head major U.S. archdioceses, are at the Vatican, along with two top officials of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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Quote:Does he look like a big marshmellow yet?
Is he a roasting type of marshmallow or fluff?

Quote:Shall we cook him to a golden brown or singe him beyond recognition?

Quote:"I am Kal-el, and I am your father. I sent you to earth to save you from the destruction of your home, the planet Krypton. Your true name is Jor-el........."

Quote:burning the pope sounds like fun, where do i sign up!