Pope: We blundered but I will never pardon paedo priests
POPE Francis has vowed to never pardon paedophiles after admitting the Catholic Church dragged its heels over abuse for far too long.
And he said he had learnt from his mistakes in handling such cases.
The Pope made the pledge during his first meeting with the papal abuse commission.
Member Baroness Hollins, who was at the Rome gathering, revealed: “He said if paedophilia is proven he will never pardon a priest and that the Church came late to an understanding of how serious this is.” The Pope came under fire when it emerged he had softened the sentence of a pervert priest who was later defrocked. He said: “We are ashamed of the abuses committed by holy ministers, who should be the most trustworthy. Sexual abuse is a horrible sin.”