Critics of the church however, say the letter is nothing more than a strongly worded statement that provides no clear direction for cleaning up the church.
VATICAN CITY — In a statement issued Monday, Pope Francis condemned the decades of sexual abuse and subsequent cover ups by leaders of the Catholic church while admitting the church has failed to protect children.
“With shame and repentance, we acknowledge as an ecclesial community that we were not where we should have been, that we did not act in a timely manner, realizing the magnitude and the gravity of the damage done to so many lives,” Francis wrote.
“We showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them.”
Francis went on to say the church must make every effort possible to create a culture where any sort of sexual abuse is not tolerated or ignored.
“No effort must be spared to create a culture able to prevent such situations from happening, but also to prevent the possibility of their being covered up and perpetuated,” Francis wrote.
The letter was released in seven languages and issued to Catholic churches around the world.
Critics of the church however, say the letter is nothing more than a strongly worded statement that provides no clear direction for how the church will be cleaned up and what will be done to remove abusive priests from power.
“Mere words at this point deepen the insult and the pain,” said Anne Barrett Doyle of the research group Bishop Accountability in an interview with the Associated Press.
The letter from Francis comes on the heels of a grand jury report in Pennsylvania that found more than 1,000 children were abused by more than 300 priests over the last 70 years.
Francis begged for forgiveness in the letter, but also said he understands that no amount of apologies will ever make up for the trauma caused by the church.
