The bishops of Pennsylvania's eight Roman Catholic dioceses are supporting creation of an independent fund to compensate survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

Maryland's attorney general is delving into records of the Baltimore archdiocese as part of an investigation into child sex abuse, the latest U.S. state seeking confidential church files since a Pennsylvania grand jury released an explosive report alleging widespread abuse and a cover-up scandal.

While Father Masters enjoys the perks of being a baseball chaplain—watching games when he has the time and even taking batting practice with the pros—he sees his job as a form of ministry.

The letter comes in the wake of an allegation of sexual misconduct raised against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a 1983 graduate of Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda, Maryland, who has been nominated to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

The pope said he knows that young people “are upset by sexual and economic scandals that do not meet with clear condemnation.”