VATICAN CITY -- Pope John Paul II said Thursday that men with "obvious signs of deviations" must be barred from becoming priests, alluding to the risk of further sex abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church.

The pope also reaffirmed the Church's requirement that priests be celibate, saying that candidates for the priesthood must understand that celibacy "is not a useless element."

The pope told visiting Brazilian bishops it would be regrettable if "immature young men, or those with obvious signs of deviations, were ordained, which, as it is sadly known, can cause serious anomalies in the consciences of the faithful, producing clear damage to the whole Church."

The pope did not explicitly mention the sex abuse scandals in the United States and elsewhere, but made clear he expects his bishops assure that seminaries emphasize "faithfulness to the doctrine on priestly celibacy."