today the leader of the anglican church, the archbishop of canterbury criticized the way the catholichurch has dealt with the crisis in ireland. >> an institution so deeply bound into the life of the society, suddenly becoming, suddenly losing all credibility. and that's not just a problem for the church. it is a problem for everybody in ireland. >> reporter: that brought a swipt response from dublin's catholic archbishop working to heal the pain of widespread abuse in church institutions. >> it's very damaging to those who are trying to restore credibility to be simply, you know, wiped off with a general comment like that. >> reporter: tonight, the archbishop of canterbury apologized saying in a statement he did not mean to criticize or attack the catholic church. meanwhile in vatican city, officials spent the day trying to repair the damage done friday night by the pope's preacher. his comparison of the attacks on the pope to the persecution of jews provoked outrage in jerusalem. >> there are other ces of raceanism the world, but i don't think this is one of them. >> reporter: and n

. >> reporter: in an interview with the bbc, the archbishop of canterbury criticized how the church handled the crisis in ireland. >> an institution so deeply bounded to the life of society. suddenly becoming some credibility. that is not just a problem for the church but a problem for erybody. >> reporter: on saturday, dublin's catholic archbishop fired back. >> it's very damaging for those trying to restore credibility to be wiped off with a general comment like that. >> reporter: by the end of the day, the archbishop of canterbury apologized. today the pope prayed for the middle east, iraq, the earthquake devastated countries of haiti and chile, but not a direct word about those abused by priests. >> ann thompson, nbc news, rome. >>> today, the big game is set. we know who is heading to the ncaa championships. >> reporter: good morning. your sports minute on this easter sunday begins with the final four and the national championship is set. duke against west virginia last night for the chance to advance. the blue devils downed the mountaineers, 78-57 thanks in pa to john shier. he scored

. >> the archbishop of canterbury criticized how the catholic church handled the crisis in ireld. >>stitution so deeply bound into the life of a society suddenly becoming suddenly losing all credibility. that's not just a problem of the church. it is a problem for everybody. >> reporter: on saturday dublin's catholic archbishop fired back. >> it is very damaging for those trying to restore credibility to be wind off with a general comment like that. by the end of the day the archbishop of canterbury apologized. >> reporter: today in his address to the city and the world the pope prayed for the middle east, iraq, the earthquake-devastated countries of haiti and chile and african nations in conflict, but there was not a direct word for those abused by priests. now this morning karth cantalamessa, the priest who made the comparison to the attacks on the pope like those on jews apologized for friday and as for the victims of sex abuse by priests those are coming from other catholic leaders today around rome, but not from the pope. n jenna? >> ann thompson reporting from rome. thank you.

archbishop of canterbury rowan williams issued an apology after he claimed in a radio interview that, because of the scandal the that, because of the scandal, the catholic church in ireland was "losing all credibility." many irish and british catholics were deeply angered by the remarks. williams' office said, "the archbishop had no intention of criticizing or offending the roman catholic church as a whole." meanwhile, the vatican named archbishop jose gomez to head the los angeles archdiocese when cardinal roger mahony retires next february. archbishop gomez currently leads the san antonio archdiocese. he is a member of the conservative catholic organization opus dei. the move to los angeles puts the mexican-born archbishop in line to become the first hispanic cardinal in the u.s. hispanics make up about a third of american catholics and about 70% of the los angeles archdiocese. religious groups were among those praising new milestones in the effort to control nuclear weapons. in prague, president barack obama and russian president dmitry medvedev signed the first major nuclear arms

want to conclude by sharing a letter that i got from one of my constituents named joellen from canterbury, new hampshire. she wrotings on april 3, my benefits maxed out, i am in my 60's a nurse and psychotherapist out of work. i'm getting no responses from employers, probably due to my age. i've worked my entire life caring for others. my husband's salary is much lower than what i brought in, but i have never had to rely on others. unemployment checks are allowing us to at least pay our bills. it plays havoc with one's body and psyche, affecting one's health and causing monumental anxiety when a vote is taken on a monthly basis to extend benefits. it's the never knowing for sure. those of us who are in the situation are hard-working citizens who've come upon bad times it. i can't believe you won't take care of this horrendous situation immediately." now, unfortunately, like so many in this chamber, i've received dozens of e-mails and letters and phone calls in the last two weeks from granite staters like joellen. unemployment benefits allow them to take care of their families, to fill up