Pope Francis On Catholic Clergy Sex Abuse: ‘I feel Compelled ... To Personally Ask Forgiveness’

Pope Francis is asking for forgiveness and wanting to impose penalties on men of the church who harm children. He has condemned the sexual abuse by Catholic clergy. He quoted in remarks made on Vatican Radio, “I feel compelled to personally take on all the evil which some priests, quite a few in number, obviously not compared to the number of all the priests to personally ask for forgiveness for the damage they have done for having sexually abused children.”

He continued on to say, “The church is aware of this damage, it is personal, moral damage carried out by men of the church, and we will not take one step backwards with regards to how we will deal with this problem, and the sanctions that must be imposed.”

Back in March, Pope Francis was interviewed by an Italian newspaper and his stance was a little different. He told Corriere della Serra, “The Catholic Church is perhaps the only public institution that has moved with transparency and responsibility. No one has done more. And yet the church is the only one that has been attacked.”

When pope Francis took office, a month before, he recommended the church’s doctrinal office to act decisively with regard to cases of sexual abuse. And that it would be by promoting measures for the protection of minors as well as offering assistance to those who have suffered abuse, carrying out due proceedings against the guilty,” the Vatican said.