The Vatican vowed to hold abusers and facilitators of abuse accountable.
The Vatican has expressed “shame and sorrow” over the sexual abuse of at least 1,000 children by more than 300 Catholic priests in Pennsylvania, USA.
The abuse is thought to have continued over a 70-year period and was unearthed following a comprehensive two-year investigation.
The Vatican vowed to hold accountable the sexually abusive priests and bishops who enabled them to continue to prey on minors.
“There are two words that can express the feelings faced with these horrible crimes: shame and sorrow,” said the statement issued in the name of Greg Burke, the director of the Holy See press office.
“The abuses described in the report are criminal and morally reprehensible. Those acts were betrayals of trust that robbed survivors of their dignity and their faith. The church must learn hard lessons from its past, and there should be accountability for both abusers and those who permitted abuse to occur.”
The statement comes just days before Pope Francis is to visit Ireland as part of the World Meeting of Families 2018.
On Thursday, the primate of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin told BBC News Northern Ireland that he “expects” the the Pope to meet with victims of abuse at the hands of the church, and “express the grave sorrow of the church.”
However, the Vatican has not yet confirmed that the Pope will visit with victims and survivors of clerical abuse. The original itinerary published by Archbishop Eamon Martin did not include any mention of a meeting with the survivors of clerical abuse.
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