Pope John Paul said on Saturday he was confident the U.S. Church would recover from recent sex scandals and regain the trust of congregations.
Meeting bishops from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the Pope said many U.S. churchmen had expressed concern to him about the crisis of confidence in American Church leadership arising from the abuse controversy.
"I am convinced that today, as at every critical moment in her history, the Church will find the resources for an authentic self-renewal in the wisdom, vision and zeal of Bishops outstanding for their holiness," the Pope said in a speech.
The sex crisis erupted in 2002 when it was discovered that many U.S. bishops had simply moved priests known to have abused minors to new parishes instead of defrocking them or reporting them to the authorities.
The Pope said earlier this month that the scandal had "cast a shadow" over the Church and Saturday he told the group of U.S. bishops that they should not appear distant from either their flocks or their clergy.
"The painful period of self-examination provoked by the events of the past two years will bear spiritual fruit only if it leads the whole Catholic community in America to a deeper understanding of the Church's authentic nature and mission," he said.
A study released earlier this year said more than 10,600 children had reported being molested by U.S. priests since 1950.
The U.S. church has paid nearly $700 million in damages to abuse victims, including some $85 million paid out by the Archdiocese of Boston, where the scandal first hit the headlines.