ABOARD THE PAPAL AIRPLANE — Hours after meeting with sexual abuse victims in Philadelphia, Pope Francis
on Sunday night again strongly condemned priests who molested children
as “sacrilegious” and publicly acknowledged that bishops had covered up
abuse cases.
“When
a priest abuses, it is very grave because the vocation of the priest is
to make that boy, that girl grow toward the love of God,” Francis said.
“For this reason, the church is strong on this, and one must not cover
these things up. Those who covered this up are guilty. Even some bishops
who covered this up.”