VATICAN CITY
Religion News Service
By Josephine McKenna
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Francis has condemned clerical sex abuse as an “absolute monstrosity” and asked victims and their families for forgiveness on behalf of the Catholic Church.
In an unusual move, the pontiff’s comments were published as a preface to a new book by Daniel Pittet, a Swiss victim who was sexually abused for four years by a priest when he was a child.
“How can a priest in the service of Christ and his church cause so much evil?” the pope said. “This is an absolute monstrosity, a horrendous sin, completely opposed to what Christ teaches us.”
The pope said he had personally witnessed the damage caused by clerical abuse and it affected him deeply.
“Several victims have committed suicide. These deaths weigh on my heart and my conscience and on the whole church,” Francis said.
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