Pope Benedict XVI might offer a mea culpa about the sexual abuse of minors by priests at the culmination of a yearlong celebration of priests at the Vatican in mid-June, a high-ranking Vatican official has said. Cardinal William J. Levada, who oversees sexual abuse cases as prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said on “PBS NewsHour” that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Benedict were to do such a thing.

Cardinal Levada, who is American, succeeded the pope, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, as prefect in 2005. The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said that it was premature to speculate, but that sexual abuse would not be “central” to the June meeting. The meeting is evolving into an expected rally in support of the pope.