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+ Opinion L.A. The pontiff specifies no punishment of accused priests even as the crisis spreads across Europe. He calls on wrongdoers to submit 'to the demands of justice,' but activists are left disappointed.

Pope Benedict XVI apologized Saturday to victims of priestly abuse in Ireland, acknowledging that the scandal had brought the church into disrepute but offering no specific action to punish clergy accused of involvement even as the crisis spread across Europe.

"You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry. I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured," the pope wrote to Irish victims and their families. "I openly express the shame and remorse that we all feel."

Amid charges of coverups, he acintelligenced that church leaders had made "grave errors of judgment" in how they dealt with the problem of sexual abuse, and he called on offending priests and religious workers to submit "to the demands of justice."