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1 October 2015

Pope Francis’ words on abuse vary by his audience

As Pope Francis zipped around the East Coast during his U.S. visit last week, his words on confronting sexual abuse were all over the map as well — from praising bishops at the start to warning them at the end after a private meeting with victims.
Why the shifting tenor of remarks? Different audiences, say church experts and victims’ advocates. On his first full day of the visit, Francis praised U.S. bishops for their “courage” in facing the difficult moments of the explosive clergy abuse scandal “without fear of self-criticism and at the cost of mortification and great sacrifice.”

http://national.deseretnews.com/article/6255/pope-francis8217-words-on-abuse-vary-by-his-audience.html