Pope Francis speaks about sex abuse scandals, Trump, and his conservatism

In a television interview with Mexico's Televisa, which aired on Tuesday, Pope Francis spoke about the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandals, the future of the church, and global politics. Here are three key moments from the pope's exchange with Televisa.

In the dark — For the first time since he was accused eight months ago, Francis spoke openly about Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò's assertion that the pope knew about allegations of sexual misconduct made against recently defrocked, former-cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who formerly served as the Archbishop of Washington. Viganò, the former nuncio to the United States, says he told Francis about the allegations in a private meeting in 2013, but Francis never acted on the knowledge. Francis told Televisa he knew nothing about McCarrick's misdeeds. "I would not have remained silent," the pope said.

He'd confront Trump — Francis has been outspoken about aid for refugees and has clashed with President Trump, whom he met at the Vatican in 2017, about Trump's policy toward migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, particularly the former policy of separating children from their parents at the border. While no meeting between the two is planned, Francis did say he would directly confront Trump about his immigration policies if they met face to face again. "I have even said that those who build walls end up being prisoners of the walls they build," he told Televisa, Reuters reports.

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He's a conservative — Francis gets quite a bit of criticism from more traditionally-minded Catholics, who feel he has too often broken with official doctrine. But Francis feels otherwise. "I am a conservative," he said, though he admits he has become conscious of things he was not previously aware of, which has allowed him to broaden his opinion on certain things. Ultimately, though, he said he has "always defended doctrine."