Pope Benedict met privately with eight victims of sexual abuse on his recent trip to Malta.
It was the first direct gesture to abuse victims by the pope after hundreds of cases of alleged sexual abuse of children by priests have come to light in recent times. The victims described the visit as an emotional meeting in which everybody cried.
The pope told the victims that the church will do all in its power to “bring to justice” those responsible for the abuse. A Vatican statement said that “he was deeply moved by their stories and expressed his shame and sorrow over what the victims and their families have suffered.”
The meeting with the abuse victims was not announced by the Vatican until it was over, during the rest of his visit to Malta the pope did not make mention of the many abuse cases that have surfaced.
It was the first direct gesture to abuse victims by the pope after hundreds of cases of alleged sexual abuse of children by priests have come to light in recent times. The victims described the visit as an emotional meeting in which everybody cried.
The pope told the victims that the church will do all in its power to “bring to justice” those responsible for the abuse. A Vatican statement said that “he was deeply moved by their stories and expressed his shame and sorrow over what the victims and their families have suffered.”
The meeting with the abuse victims was not announced by the Vatican until it was over, during the rest of his visit to Malta the pope did not make mention of the many abuse cases that have surfaced.
