World /

Copied

He might not have mentioned it explicitly, but Pope Benedict has apparently broken his deafening silence on the sex abuse scandals roiling the Catholic Church. The comments, which called for the church to do "penance" for its "sins," came in a homily delivered in the papal palace, reports the Wall Street Journal.

"We Christians, even lately, have often avoided the word 'penance,'" Benedict said in excerpts posted on a church website. "Now, under the eyes of the world that speaks of our sins, we see that doing penance is grace and we see how penance is necessary," (Read more Pope Benedict XVI stories.)