Pope expresses ‘shame’ at scale of clergy abuse in France
The Hindu
“There is, unfortunately, a considerable number. I would like to express to the victims my sadness and pain for the trauma that they suffered,’’ Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis expressed “shame” for himself and the Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday for the scale of child sexual abuse within the church in France and acknowledged failures in putting the needs of victims first.
The pope spoke during his regular audience at the Vatican about a report released on October 5 that estimated some by clergy and other church authority figures dating back to 1950.
“There is, unfortunately, a considerable number. I would like to express to the victims my sadness and pain for the trauma that they suffered,’’ Pope Francis said. “It is also my shame, our shame, my shame, for the incapacity of the church for too long to put them at the centre of its concerns.”