Victims: Pope's abuse remarks not enough

BOSTON, April 16 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI's assertion he is "deeply ashamed" of sexual abuse by U.S. Catholic priests is too little too late, some victims say.

"These words don't mean anything," said David Carney, a Dedham, Mass., native who said a priest abused him when he was 15. "If you want to fix a problem, do something about it."

When they broke, allegations of sexual abuse and the church's sheltering of accused priests rocked the U.S. Catholic community and triggered hundreds of lawsuits, costing the church more than $2 billion -- including $150 million in the Archdiocese of Boston, the scandal's epicenter, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday.

Pope Benedict's pledge to "do all that is possible" to eradicate sexual abuse by priests didn't satisfy some Massachusetts victims who said the pope's remarks sometimes focused on the church's reputation, not the victims.

"(Here) it is, 2008, and we have the head of the Catholic Church who is still apologizing, still promising to make reforms, still promising to get on top of the issue," Phil Saviano, founder of the New England chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests who said a priest raped him when he was 12.