Pope Francis To Meet With Sex Abuse Victims, Says Catholic Church Has 'Zero Tolerance' For Abusers

Pope Francis said on Tuesday that he hoped to soon meet with a group of victims of sex abuse by Catholic priests and declared that under his direction, the church had “zero tolerance” for members of the priesthood responsible for abuse. Vanguardia reports that the pontiff added, while returning to Europe from the Middle East, that three bishops were currently being investigated by the Vatican in relation to sexual abuse, though it remains unclear whether the bishops were suspected of having committed it themselves or covering up the indiscretions of others.

The occasion will be the first time Francis meets with the victims of such abuse. “Sexual abuse is such a horrendous crime ... because a priest that does it betrays the body of God,” the pope said, according to Argentina’s La Nacion. “It’s like a Satanic mass…we must continue on with zero-tolerance [policies].” At the beginning of June, he added, he would receive the eight victims of abuse along with Boston cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, who heads a commission designed to analyze potential cases of sexual abuse within the church.

The pope also indicated that while he supported the Catholic Church’s policy of prohibiting priests from marrying, his belief in the policy’s value was less than fervent. “Celibacy is not a dogma,” he said. “It is a life rule that I much appreciate and I believe that it’s a gift to the Church, but as it is not a dogma, the door is always open” to possible changes. NBC News notes that the pontiff first showed openness to the idea shortly after his rise to the papacy.