If all the institutions that work with children-- from schools to Scouts to sports leagues -- want to stand together to prevent child abuse, the Catholic Church would "exuberantly welcome" the chance to join in "a major national educational campaign" to prevent abuse, the leader of the American bishops said Monday.

The erupting scandal at Penn State brought the horrors of the Catholic clerical sex abuse crisis back into the headlines this month and it made the bishops freshly "bow our heads in shame and contrition," said Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, at the annual fall meeting in Baltimore on Monday.

The bishops, whose policies and secrecy once allowed abuse to fester for decades, set forth in 2002 to create model screening programs and "safe environment training" for abuse protection and prevention.

No such coalition exists -- yet -- Dolan said.

He said more than once that the Church is "timid about giving advice," but it stands ready to join any groups that want to take on this society-wide problem. "We haven't been a good example in the past but we are trying to become one," he said.

DO YOU THINK ... the bishops' lessons would serve Penn State and other universities and institutions?