Pope Francis, in his visit to the U.S., confronted the Roman Catholic clergy regarding issues of sexual abuse, and expresses his concern for the serious matter.
Deeply troubled by the issues of sexual abuse permeating the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis confronted the clergy on the final day of his U.S. visit.
"I have in my heart the stories of suffering and the pain of the minors who were sexually abused by priests," said the 78-year-old Argentine leader of the Catholic Church to bishops in Philadelphia, as per International Business Times.
Francis met with three women and two men, who as young children were victims of sexual abuse, and addressed the issues.
In condemning sexual abuse and in promising punishment to perpetrators, the pope might have used his strongest language yet.
"This disgrace keeps burdening me, that the people who had the responsibility of caring for these tender ones raped them and caused them great pain," the pope said. "God weeps for the sexual abuse of children."
In his papacy, this was the second time that Francis met with victims of clergy abuse. However, the meeting with the Philadelphia clergy -- the one more publicly known to have clergy scandals when compared to the other two U.S. cities he visited -- was the first in a foreign tour.
"For those who were abused by a member of the clergy, I am deeply sorry for the times when you or your family spoke out to report the abuse, but you were not heard or believed. Please know that the Holy Father heard you and believes you," the Pope said.
Vatican spokesperson Father Federico Lombardi said in a statement that "Pope Francis reiterated the commitment of the Church so that all victims be heard and treated with justice; the guilty be punished and crimes of abuse be combated with an effective prevention program in the Church and in society."
BBC reports that some advocacy groups, in hearing what the Pope has said, expressed their skepticism as to whether his words would actually lead to any change.
"The truth is that the survivor community has been asking the Church to take several simple steps to protect children and hold perpetrators and enablers accountable for years, but the Church has refused to take these actions," said John Salveson, president of the Foundation to Abolish Child Abuse in Pennsylvania.
Fr. Lombardi added: "The Pope thanked the victims for their essential contribution to restore the truth and begin the journey of healing."
