Bartley, whose group came together in Boston in the wake of the scandal to call for greater transparency and lay involvement, said American bishops should follow Pope Benedict's example in treating abuse victims "with the compassion and respect they deserve."
"And we still ask the question," Bartley said: "How can the Catholic Church be a moral beacon while the bishops that moved abusive priests from parish to parish remain in office?"
At the least, Pope Benedict showed those affected that they have his attention.
"Certainly, one of the criticisms of [Pope] John Paul II was that he didn't really understand the full nature of the problem," said Mathew Schmalz, a professor of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross. "I think what you can say now is that the pope gets it. This will, I think, give greater impetus to victims groups to approach the hierarchy for some kind of reconciliation."
That hierarchy has received its instructions. In Washington, Pope Benedict reminded American bishops of their "God-given responsibility as pastors to bind up the wounds caused by every breach of trust, to foster healing, to promote reconciliation and to reach out with loving concern to those so seriously wronged."
"In saying that, he was admitting that the wounds are still open and that there's still work to be done," Schmalz said. "I know many members of victims groups have a kind of wait-and-see attitude now."
Visiting in the thick of a presidential campaign, Pope Benedict was careful to avoid statements that could suggest a papal endorsement of a particular candidate or platform. But he stressed that religious believers must be allowed to act on their faith in their public lives.
"The full guarantee of religious liberty cannot be limited to the free exercise of worship," he told the United Nations General Assembly. Rather, he said, it should include "the possibility of believers playing their part in building the social order."
How the pontiff's call for Catholics to bring their faith into public life will affect American politics is another question. During the 2004 presidential election, some bishops said they would deny communion to politicians who supported abortion rights. That year, Catholic voters favored Republican President Bush, a Methodist, over Democrat John Kerry, a Catholic.
