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 WASHINGTON (AP) - The president of America's Roman Catholic bishops defended American priests Monday, saying a "handful" of miscreants who sexually abused minors have forced the rest of the clergy "to endure an avalanche of negative public attention."
Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane, Wash., told a meeting of the U.S. hierarchy that despite that scandal and job pressures caused by the declining total of clerics, three recent surveys show a "high level of morale among priests."
He also said the overwhelming majority of lay parishioners "appreciate the job their priests are doing for them."
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