Pope Francis on Sunday vowed to tackle every single case of sexual abuse by priests in the Roman Catholic Church, comparing paedophilia to “human sacrifice”.
But his public address to the Church’s top bishops at the end of a landmark summit in the Vatican on tackling clerical assault of minors threatened to disappoint victims.
“If in the Church there should emerge even a single case of abuse – which already in itself represents an atrocity – that case will be faced with the utmost seriousness”, Francis promised.
“I am reminded of the cruel religious practice, once widespread in certain cultures, of sacrificing human beings – frequently children – in pagan rites,” he added.
The sexual abuse of minors was “a widespread phenomenon in all cultures and societies,” Francis said, and he slammed those priests who pray on children as “tools of Satan”.
The scandals have hit countries around the world, with lives devastated from Australia to Chile, Germany and the US. Read more