PHILADELPHIA (PA)
NPR
Updated at 11:40 a.m. ET
Pope Francis, in a previously unannounced stop, met with victims of clergy sex abuse in Philadelphia, as the pontiff is wrapping up a six-day visit to the U.S. that will culminate with a huge Mass this afternoon.
Meeting with 300 bishops, Francis said he had met with the sex abuse survivor group Sunday morning.
“It continues to be on my mind that the people who had the responsibility to take care of these tender ones, violated that trust and caused them great pain,” he said, adding “God weeps.”
The pope added that the abuse “cannot be maintained in secret. And I commit to a careful oversight to ensure that youth are protected.”
The Vatican, in a statement, says Francis met with three women and two men who had been abused as children. It said that each was accompanied by a family member or someone close and that the pope listened and expressed solidarity in sharing in their suffering.
“He renewed the commitment of the Church to the effort that all victims are heard and treated with justice, that the guilty be punished and that the crimes of abuse be combated with an effective prevention activity in the Church and in society,” the statement said.
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