Pope condemns as ‘atrocities’ priest sex abuse and efforts to cover it up

PHILADELPHIA – Pope Francis on Monday condemned the decades of child sex abuse perpetrated by Catholic priests in Pennsylvania and efforts to cover it up as “atrocities,” and vowed to better respond to such crimes in the future.

But he offered no indication – in a nearly 2,000-word letter translated into seven languages and released by the Vatican – of any concrete measures he would take to identify or punish complicit bishops.

Instead, Francis begged forgiveness for victims’ suffering, and called for prayer and penitence to atone for the “sins” of the wider church. The pope blamed the traditional Catholic adherence to hierarchical decision-making for its failure to sufficiently address past clergy abuse and insisted that lay Catholics worldwide must be a part of reforming its approach.

“We acknowledge as an ecclesiastical community that we were not where we should have been, that we did not act in a timely manner realizing the magnitude and gravity of the damage done to so many lives,” he wrote. “We showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them.”

The message – released just days before a scheduled papal visit to Ireland, a country marred by clergy sex abuse – constituted Francis’ most frank comments to date on the latest wave of abuse allegations that have eroded trust in Catholic congregations worldwide, and prompted calls both from inside and outside the church for greater accountability.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro praised the pope’s message Monday, and called on church leaders statewide to “cease their denials and deflections” and support meaningful reform.

Last week, Shapiro’s office unveiled a blistering grand jury report accusing 301 priests in the state of sexual misconduct involving more than 1,000 victims and condemning several within Pennsylvania’s church hierarchy – including some bishops – of protecting predators over seven decades.