Pope Francis on Monday admitted that Catholic Church hierarchies shielded the crimes of pedophile priests.
The Pontiff stated this hours after meeting people who were abused in their youth by members of the clergy.
Speaking to reporters on the return flight from Philadelphia to Rome, at the end of his pilgrimage to Cuba and the United States, Francis said abusing children was ‘almost a sacrilege’ and a betrayal of the call of God for a priest.
“And those who have covered up these things are also guilty, even some bishops have covered up, it is a very bad thing,” the pontiff stressed.
On Sunday, the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics spent about 30 minutes with three women and two men who were sexually abused by clergy members.
“I promise that all those responsible for the sexual abuse of children will be punished,” Francis later told a gathering of bishops, saying he felt “deep shame” about the acts.
The pope told the audience that these crimes can no longer be kept secret, and said ‘God weeps’ because of them.
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