VATICAN CITY
Gazzetta del Sud
Vatican City, January 16 – Scandals that have “shamed” the Catholic Church often occurred when people did not listen to the word of God, Pope Francis said Thursday. Speaking during Mass in St. Martha House, the Vatican guesthouse where the pope lives, Francis said that when a person’s “heart is closed to the word of God,” terrible things can happen. His comments came the same day that the Vatican was being publicly confronted for the first time over allegation of sexual abuse of children by clergy, before a United Nations hearing in Geneva. Pope Francis announced last month that a Vatican committee would be established to deal with sexual abuse of children in the Church and help to victims. During his homily, Francis referred to financial scandals that have involved “a lot of money” as well as misbehavior by priests, bishops and lay members of the Church. “The word of God was rare in those scandals…they did not have a relationship with God,” he said of those who misbehaved.
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