Spokesman Implies Pope Francis Will Meet with Sex Abuse Survivors during U.S. Trip

By Michelle Boorstein
Washington Post
September 24, 2015

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/09/24/spokesman-implies-pope-francis-will-meet-with-sex-abuse-survivors-during-u-s-trip/

Defending Pope Francis’ comments in the United States on clergy sex abuse, his spokesman Thursday night hinted that the pope will meet with survivors during this visit. U.S. church leaders had said similar things in the months leading up to this visit, but not a concrete way at such a precise time.

At a news conference in New York, the Rev. Federico Lombardi was asked why the pope had spoken twice now — Wednesday to bishops and Thursday to seminarians and religious sisters, among others — about the abuse crisis, but never named it explicitly and focused on encouraging the clergy without speaking first about victims.

“It isn’t totally true what you say. He has spoken of ‘crimes,’ and said the bishops have to engage to avoid these crimes can happen again ..it is an incredible, terrible, terrible thing,” the Italian priest said in slightly broken English. “It may be the trip is not to end now, the pope has already said speaking to bishops, to the priests, maybe he will also have other occasions to approach this problem that was and is very big.”

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