On July 7, at his residence at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Pope met three women and three men and he asked for forgiveness.

Two of the victims came from Ireland, two were from Great Britain and two were from Germany.

They stayed at the same guesthouse the Pope lives at and attended an early morning Mass.

The Pope met each one privately for a total of more than three hours.

During his homily, Pope Francis praised the survivors' courage in speaking out about their abuse.

He said telling the truth was "was a service of love, since for us it shed light on a terrible darkness in the life of the Church".

He said child sex abuse by clergy is "more than despicable actions".

"It is like a sacrilegious cult, because these boys and girls had been entrusted to the priestly charism in order to be brought to God. And those people sacrificed them to the idol of concupiscence," the Pope said.

He asked for forgiveness "for the sins of omission on the part of the Church leaders who did not respond adequately to reports of abuse".

"Today, the heart of the Church looks into the eyes of Jesus in these boys and girls and wants to weep; she asks for the grace to weep before the execrable acts of abuse which have left lifelong scars," the Pope said.

He also expressed his " love and sorrow" for families who had also suffered from the suicide of a victim.

The Pope also said bishops would be held accountable for protecting minors, but he did not spell out how.

A Vatican spokesman said the survivors were visibly moved by experience and had "felt listened to".

He rejected claims from some groups that the encounter was a publicity stunt.

Irish survivor Marie Kane said after meeting the Pope that she believed he spoke from the heart.

But she warned the Catholic Church would "disappear" if it did not change.

Pope Benedict XVI met clergy sex abuse survivors in several countries.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• The Tablet (includes full text of Pope Francis' address)
• Catholic News Agency
• Religion News Service
• Image: bubu.ca

Monsignor Battista Mario Salvatore Ricca was described as a "trusted cleric" when the Pope's appointment was announced on June 15.

A veteran diplomat, Monsignor Ricca had recently been serving as director of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Vatican residence where the Pope has chosen to live.

Now Vatican journalist Sandro Magister of L'Espresso newspaper says questions have arisen about Ricca's conduct during a brief assignment at the apostolic nunciature in Uruguay, between 1999 and 2001.

According to Magister, a "rupture" occurred between Ricca and the nuncio in Uruguay, Bishop Janusz Bolonek, and Ricca was suddenly transferred. The journalist says those who confidentially examined the case used the expressions "pink power" and "conducta escandalosa".

Ricca was selected by the council of cardinals supervising the bank. But Magister says he won the Pope's trust through the familiar relations he established with him as director of the Domus Sanctae Marthae and of two other residences for priests and bishops passing through Rome, including one at which the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio used to stay.

Magister says that in late June, when nuncios gathered in Rome to meet Pope Francis in person, the Pope became convinced by "several incontrovertible sources" that he had put his trust in the wrong person.

Another scandal at the Vatican Bank would follow the sudden resignations of its two highest-ranking operational officers, director-general Paolo Cipriani and vice-director Massimo Tulli, on July 1, following the arrest of Vatican accountant Monsignor Nunzio Scarano on a money-smuggling charge.

Their departures — "in the best interests of the [bank] itself and of the Holy See" — forced the president of the bank, Ernst von Freyburg, to step in temporarily as director-general.

Sources:

Chiesa

National Catholic Reporter

Image: La Voce Del Popolo