Catholic News Service
By Francis X. Rocca
Catholic News Service
ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM JERUSALEM (CNS) — Pope Francis will meet with a group of sex abuse victims for the first time in June, he told reporters May 26.
During an inflight news conference on his return to Rome from the Holy Land, the pope also confirmed reports the Vatican is investigating charges its former secretary of state misappropriated $20 million from the Vatican bank. And he announced he plans to visit the Philippines and Sri Lanka in January.
The pope described the abuse of children by priests as “such an ugly crime” and a “very grave” problem, the betrayal of a priest’s duty to lead young people to holiness, comparable to performance of a Black Mass.
“We must move ahead, ahead, zero tolerance,” he said.
As an indication of how seriously he takes the problem, the pope said he would meet in the first week of June with a group of six to eight sex abuse victims from various countries, including Germany, England and Ireland. He also will celebrate a private Mass with the group in the Vatican guesthouse, where he lives. Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston, a member of the recently established Vatican commission on child protection, will be present at the gathering, the pope said.
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