We abandoned the little ones, but we will do everything to end abuse

Pontiff letter to world’s Catholics admits Church has failed victims

POPE Francis has written an unprecedented letter to Catholics condemning the “crimes” of child sex abuse by priests and vowing to end the cover-ups.

Francis called the worldwide abuse scandal a “culture of death” and acknowledged “with shame and repentance” that “the heart-wrenching pain of these victims was long ignored, kept quiet or silenced.”

His hard-hitting, 2,000-word letter added: “We did not act in a timely manner, realising the magnitude and the gravity of the damage done.

“We showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them.”

And the pontiff insisted no effort would be spared to stop further sex abuse and “the abuse of power and conscience perpetrated by a significant number of priests”.

The letter is Francis’ most direct attempt to address the sex abuse scandal which has eroded the Church’s credibility.

A Vatican official said it was the first time any pope had written to all of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics about the scandal. Past letters have been addressed to bishops and flock in individual countries.

It was released ahead of his visit to Ireland this weekend, where 750,000 people will attend events in Dublin and Knock, Co Mayo.

But with Ireland scarred by decades of sexual abuse, many are calling for Francis to acknowledge publicly the role Church authorities played in silencing victims and keeping paedophile priests in their jobs.

The Church is facing similar scandals in other countries, including Chile, Australia and the US.

In his letter Francis referred to the release of a grand jury report in Pennsylvania which documented alleged abuse by more than 300 priests against 1,000 children over decades.

He wrote of the victims: “We have realised that these wounds never disappear and that they require us forcefully to condemn these atrocities.

“Their outcry was more powerful than the measures meant to silence it.” He attacked the “pride and self-complacency of many priests but said all Catholics must join forces to change the culture, stop further atrocities “but also to prevent the possibility of them being covered up and perpetuated.”

Pope Francis did not lay out any concrete steps the Vatican would take.

But, in a newly-released film, called Pope Francis: A Man Of His Word, he talks of supporting victims in legal