Pope to clerical sexual abuse victims: please forgive me for the pain you suffered and for the cover-ups that made it worse

Pope Francis met six victims of clerical sex abuse today to beg forgiveness for the “sacrilegious” crimes committed by the “sons and daughters of the Church, who betrayed their mission to abuse the innocent.” The Pope told six victims of priestly abuse – two Britons, two Germans and two from Ireland – that the Church would “weep” for its “grave sin” and must make amends through reparations for the suffering it has caused. Speaking at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the guesthouse Francis has made his residence, he denounced the abuse of minors as “worse than despicable”. In an off-the-cuff homily Pope Francis referred to the moment when Peter weeps after denying Christ. Francis asked for forgiveness and told the survivors