Pope says Church must do penance

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Pope Benedict XVI has said the Catholic Church needs to "do penance" for its sins, an apparent reference to the recent child sexual abuse scandal.He said Catholics were "under attack from the world which talks to us of our sins" and should see the necessity "to recognise what is wrong in our lives".

A series of allegations of abuse by priests has put pressure on the Church.

On Monday, a senior cardinal provoked outrage by linking homosexuality with paedophilia in the abuse scandal.

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