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German Catholic bishops in the pope's home state of Bavaria expressed "deep shock and shame" Thursday at recent reports of abuse in their diocese.

In a statement issued at the spring conference of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, the bishops announced new measures to win back trust and prevent similar abuse from happening in the future.

The archdiocese is the same one that Pope Benedict XVI, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, once headed.

"Of the highest priority is the search for truth and the establishment of an open atmosphere that encourages the victim to express what was done to them," the bishops said in a statement.

It comes after hundreds of alleged victims have come forward in Germany claiming priests abused them. Some allege the abuse was sexual, while others refer to physical violence such as slapping.

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The priest at the center of a German sex-abuse scandal continued working with children for more than 30 years, even though Pope Benedict XVI - as Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger at that time - was personally involved in his case, and a German court convicted the priest of molesting boys.

The priest, Peter Hullermann, was suspended from his duties yesterday. That was three days after the church acknowledged that the pope, while archbishop, had responded to early accusations of molestation by allowing the priest to move to Munich for therapy in 1980.

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