Pope Francis asks for forgiveness over priests' sexual abuse

Pope Francis asks for forgiveness over priests&#039; sexual abuse

(Image credit: Franco Origlia/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

In what is being called the "strongest condemnation yet" of the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic Church, Pope Francis asked today for forgiveness from victims who were sexually abused by their priests. The pope spoke on Vatican Radio after being criticized for not dedicating attention to the problem, and amid rumblings that he hasn't punished the bishops who covered up abuse claims.

Here's Francis, via CNN:

"I feel compelled to personally take on all the evil which some priests — quite a few in number, obviously not compared to the number of all the priests — to personally ask for forgiveness for the damage they have done for having sexually abused children," said the pope. "The church is aware of this damage, it is personal, moral damage carried out by men of the church, and we will not take one step backward with regards to how we will deal with this problem, and the sanctions that must be imposed."

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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.