Pope: Church feels 'shame and regret' for abuse

Catholic priests who sexually abused children "disfigured their ministry" and caused the Catholic Church "profound shame and regret," Pope Benedict XVI wrote Monday, in one of his strongest statements to date on the scandal facing the Vatican. "

What has happened should make us all the more watchful and attentive," the pope wrote in an open letter to men studying to be priests.

But he insisted that it is still good to become a priest and that celibacy still "makes sense."

"Even the most reprehensible abuse cannot discredit the priestly mission, which remains great and pure," he said.