NEW JERSEY/VATICAN CITY
NorthJersey.com

JULY 7, 2014

BY FRANCES D’EMILIO
ASSOCIATED PRESS

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis begged forgiveness Monday in his first meeting with Catholics sexually abused by members of the clergy and went further than any of his predecessors by vowing to hold bishops accountable for their handling of pedophile priests.

Pope Francis celebrates the Angelus noon prayer from his studio window overlooking St. Peter’s square, at the Vatican, Sunday, July 6, 2014.

Abuse victims and their advocates have long demanded that higher-ups be made to answer for the decades-long coverups of rape and molestation of youngsters in a scandal that has rocked the church and dismayed its worldwide flock of 1.2 billion.

The pope celebrated a private Mass with six victims — two each from Ireland, Britain and Germany — at his Vatican residence, and spent the rest of the morning listening to their accounts,…