The document provides details of Pope Benedict XVI's schedule for his visit to the United States, including meetings with the president, bishops, and educators. It also summarizes his statements on the flight acknowledging the clergy sex abuse scandal and pledging to prevent future abuse. Additionally, it reports on recent bombings in Iraq that killed at least 60 people in several cities. Authorities in Texas also defended their decision to separate mothers from many of the 416 children seized in a raid on a polygamist ranch.

1. TODAY
10 a.m. to noon, meet with
president; 5 to 7 p.m. vespers and
address to U.S. bishops at Nation-
al Shrine.
THURSDAY
10 a.m., Mass at Nationals Park; 5
p.m., address to Catholic educa-
tors at the Catholic University of
America; 6:30 p.m., interreligious
gathering at the Pope John Paul II
Cultural Center.
WORLD
& NATION
THE TIMES SECTION C
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2008
TOTAL
U.S. DEATHS
4,034
DEATHS
BY HOSTILE
ACTION
3,291
LATEST
DEATHS
No new deaths
reported.
LATEST IDS
● Two Marines
were killed Monday
during combat in
Anbar province.
Both were assigned
to the Marine
Forces Reserve's
2nd Battalion, 24th
Marine Regiment,
4th Marine Divi-
sion, Milwaukee.
Killed were Cpl.
Richard J. Nelson,
23, Racine, Wis.;
and Lance Cpl.
Dean D. Opicka,
29, Waukesha, Wis.
RECENT
CASUALTIES
Recently released
photos of U.S. mili-
tary personnel who
have died in Iraq or
Afghanistan.
WAR
REPORT INSIDE: U.S. Muslim leaders troubled by pope's
record on Islam to meet with him in Washington. C2
Pontiff in AmericaW H E R E H E ’ L L B E T H E N E X T F E W D A Y S
AUXILIARY
BISHOP OF
WASHING-
TON
Francisco
Gonzalez kisses
the ring of
Pope Benedict
XVI as he
arrives at
Andrews Air
Force Base,
Md., on
Tuesday.
Archbishop
Donald Wuerl
of Washington
looks on, and
Monsignor
David Malloy
is at right.
AP/GERALD
HERBERT
HE’S HERE
Victor L. Simpson
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, MD. — Pope Bene-
dict XVI stepped onto U.S. soil for the
time as pontiff Tuesday, arriving to a
presidential handshake and wild cheer-
ing only hours after he admitted that he
is “deeply ashamed” of the clergy sex
abuse scandal that has devastated the
American church.
Benedict gave hundreds of spectators
a two-handed wave as he stepped off a
special Alitalia airliner that brought
him from Rome. Students from a local
Catholic school screamed ecstatically
when they saw the pope, who shook
hands warmly with President Bush, first
lady Laura Bush and their daughter
Jenna on the tarmac.
Hundreds of onlookers, some from
local Catholic parishes, clapped and
shouted as they watched the scene from
nearby bleachers.
Benedict tackled the most painful
issue facing the U.S. Catholic Church —
clergy sex abuse — on his flight to Amer-
ica. The U.S. church has paid out $2 bil-
lion in abuse costs since 1950, most of
that in just the last six years.
Seemingly in a nod to his American
flock, the pope spoke in English as he
answered questions submitted in
advance by reporters.
“It is a great suffering for the church
in the United States and for the church
in general and for me personally that
this could happen,” Benedict said. “It is
difficult for me to understand how it was
possible that priests betray in this way
their mission ... to these children.”
“I am deeply ashamed, and we will do
what is possible so this cannot happen
again in the future,” the pope said.
Benedict pledged that pedophiles
would not be priests in the Catholic
Church.
“I do not wish to talk at this moment
about homosexuality, but about
pedophilia, which is another thing,” he
said.
“We will absolutely exclude
pedophiles from the sacred ministry. It
is more important to have good priests
than many priests. We will do everything
possible to heal this wound.”
Gary Bergeron, who was molested by a
priest in the 1970s in Lowell, Mass.,
called the comments a “step I’ve been
looking for.” Bergeron said he was disap-
pointed that Benedict did not plan to
visit the Archdiocese of Boston, the
scene of a case that sparked the greater
scandal, but urged the pontiff to meet
with victims this week.
The pope’s promise failed to mollify
Pope Benedict XVI vows to fight clergy sex abuse
The Times/CHRISTINA BAIRD
TOM PENDEL watches the time closely at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in
Coraopolis as he prepares to ring the bells for two minutes at 4 p.m. Tuesday in honor
of the pope’s arrival in America.
A WHOLE NEW BATTLE: SOME GAY COUPLES
ARE HAVING TROUBLE OBTAINING DIVORCES PAGE C4
Kim Gamel
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
BAGHDAD — Bombings blamed
on al-Qaida in Iraq tore
through market areas in Bagh-
dad and outside the capital on
Tuesday, killing nearly 60 peo-
ple and shattering weeks of
relative calm in Sunni-domi-
nated areas.
The bloodshed — in four
cities as far north as Mosul and
as far west as Ramadi — struck
directly at U.S. claims that the
Sunni insurgency is waning
and being replaced by Shiite
militia violence as a major
threat.
The deadliest blasts took
place in Baqouba and Ramadi,
two cities where the U.S. mili-
tary has claimed varying
degrees of success in getting
Sunnis to turn against al-
Qaida.
In Baqouba, the Diyala
provincial capital 35 miles
northeast of the capital, a
parked car exploded about
11:30 a.m. in front of a restau-
rant across the street from the
central courthouse and other
government offices.
Many of the victims were on
their way to the court, at the
restaurant or in cars passing
through the area. A man iden-
tifying himself as Abu Sarmad
had just ordered lunch.
“I heard a big explosion, and
hot wind threw me from my
chair to outside the restau-
rant,” he said from his hospi-
tal bed.
The force of the blast jolted
the concrete barriers erected
along the road to protect the
courthouse, witnesses said.
At least 40 people were
killed and 70 wounded, accord-
ing to hospital officials, who
spoke on condition of anonymi-
ty because they weren’t autho-
rized to release the informa-
tion.
The U.S. military in north-
ern Iraq gave a slightly lower
toll, saying 35 Iraqi citizens
were killed, including a police-
man, and 66 wounded. It said
the blast destroyed three buses
and damaged 10 shops.
AP Television News footage
showed many of the bodies
covered in crisp white sheets
and black plastic bags in a hos-
pital courtyard while the emer-
gency room inside was over-
whelmed with the wounded.
It was the deadliest bombing
in Iraq since March 6, when a
twin bombing killed 68 people
in a crowded shopping district
IRAQ BAGHDAD’S UNREST
Jennifer Dobner
and Michael Graczyk
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
ELDORADO, TEXAS — State offi-
cials Tuesday defended their
decision to suddenly separate
mothers from many of the chil-
dren taken in a raid on a polyg-
amist ranch in West Texas.
Texas Children’s Protective
Services spokeswoman Mar-
leigh Meisner said the separa-
tion was made Monday after
they decided that children are
more truthful in interviews
about possible abuse if their
parents are not around.
When state troopers and
child welfare officials seized
416 children from the com-
pound, 139 women accompa-
nied them on their own and
had been allowed to stay with
the children until Monday,
when they were driven back to
the compound.
Only women with children
under 5 could stay at the San
Angelo Coliseum where they
were being held.
Meisner said the decision
was made after much discus-
sion with experts.
The mothers have com-
plained the state deceived
them, but Meisner said the sit-
uation was explained and,
while there were tears, the
operation went smoothly.
“I can tell you we believe the
children who are victims of
abuse or neglect, and particu-
larly victims at the hands of
their own parents, certainly
are going to feel safer to tell
their story when they don’t
have a parent there that’s
coaching them with how to
respond,” Meisner said.
Although Meisner called the
decision typical in any case her
agency works “every single
day,” she also ticked off a list of
obstacles making the seizure of
more than 400 children from a
polygamist sect anything but
typical.
Meisner said child welfare
officials still can’t find birth
certificates for many of the
children, making parentage
and age determinations impos-
sible. She said many of the
children don’t know who their
parents are and many have the
same last name but may or may
not be related.
“It’s a difficult process,” she
said.
Authorities raided the sect’s
ranch more than a week ago in
Bombs kill
at least 60
Fears mount of more deaths to come
Army Spc. David
Stelmat, 27, of Lit-
tleton, N.H.
Army Staff Sgt.
Emanuel Pickett,
34, of Teachey, N.C.
“I heard a big explosion,
and hot wind threw me
from my chair to
outside the restaurant.”
Abu Sarmad, an Iraqi man,
from his hospital bed
Army Staff Sgt.
Laurent J. West,
31, of Raleigh, N.C.
Army Sgt. Thomas
C. Ray, 40, of
Weaverville, N.C.
Authorities defend
separating families
TEXAS POLYGAMIST SECT
THE SEPARATION
When state troopers and child welfare
officials seized 416 children from the
compound, 139 women accompanied
them on their own and had been
allowed to stay with the children until
Monday, when they were driven back
to the compound. Only women with
children under 5 could stay at the San
Angelo Coliseum where they were
being held.
See IRAQ, Page C3
See POLYGAMIST, Page C2 See POPE, Page C2