The pontiff also acknowledged the “pain” of priests who have been held collectively responsible for the crimes of a few, Vatican spokesman Greg Burke told reporters on Tuesday, during Francis’ first visit to Chile.
Francis dived head-first into Chile’s sex abuse scandal on his first full day in Santiago that came amid unprecedented opposition to his visit: three more churches were torched overnight, including one burned to the ground in the southern Araucania region where Francis celebrates Mass on Wednesday.
Police used tear gas and water cannons to break up an anti-pope protest outside Francis’ big open-air Mass in the capital, Santiago.
Despite the incidents, huge numbers of Chileans turned out to see the pope, including an estimated 400,000 for his Mass, and he brought some inmates to tears with an emotional visit to a women’s prison.
But his meeting with abuse survivors and comments in his first speech of the day were what many Chileans, incensed by years of abuse scandal and cover-up, were waiting for.
Mr Burke said Francis met with a small group of abuse victims after lunch, listening to their stories and praying with them. The spokesman gave no details, other than to say the pope “listened to them, prayed with them and wept with them.”
Earlier in the day, Francis told Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, politicians, judges and other authorities that he…
… Read More
—
Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.