VATICAN CITY
Detroit Free Press
August 20, 2018
By John Bacon
Pope Francis on Monday condemned the “atrocities” of sexual abuse by priests and church leaders who covered up the crimes, apologizing to the church community and demanding accountability from leaders in the future.
The letter to the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics was issued less than a week after the latest in a long line of staggering abuse revelations. A withering grand jury report released by the Pennsylvania attorney general alleged that church leaders protected 301 “predator priests” in six dioceses across the state for decades at the expense of more than 1,000 victims.
“I acknowledge once more the suffering endured by many minors due to sexual abuse, the abuse of power and the abuse of conscience perpetrated by a significant number of clerics and consecrated persons,” Francis said.
He said it was with “shame and repentance” that he acknowledged the church was slow in responding to the problem.
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