Pope Francis celebrated a Mass at Sanctae Marthae Chapel on Monday morning and told six victims of sexual abuse who were in the congregation that when he looked at them, he felt like Peter felt after he denied Jesus three times.

“The scene where Peter sees Jesus emerge after a terrible interrogation… Peter whose eyes meet the gaze of Jesus and weeps… This scene comes to my mind as I look at you, and think of so many men and women, boys and girls," the pope said. "I feel the gaze of Jesus and I ask for the grace to weep, the grace for the Church to weep and make reparation for her sons and daughters who betrayed their mission, who abused innocent persons. Today, I am very grateful to you for having travelled so far to come here."

He said these abuses were "camouflaged with a complicity that cannot be explained" and accused those who inflicted the pain of being "like a sacrilegious cult."

“This is what causes me distress and pain at the fact that some priests and bishops, by sexually abusing minors, violated their innocence and their own priestly vocation. It is something 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 their own concupiscence. They profane the very image of God in whose likeness we were created."

He went on to acknowledge the kind of woundedness the victims are suffering, the unrelenting emotional and spiritual pain that has caused many to turn to addictions and wreaked havoc in their personal relationships.

“Some have even had to deal with the terrible tragedy of the death of a loved one by suicide. The deaths of these so beloved children of God weighs upon the heart and my conscience and that of the whole Church. . . . To these families I express my heartfelt love and sorrow."

He continued by applauding those victims who made the journey to Rome.  “Sins of clerical sexual abuse against minors have a toxic effect on faith and hope in God. Some of you have held fast to faith, while for others the experience of betrayal and abandonment has led to a weakening of faith in God. Your presence here speaks of the miracle of hope, which prevails against the deepest darkness. Surely it is a sign of God’s mercy that today we have this opportunity to encounter one another, to adore God, to look in one another’s eyes and seek the grace of reconciliation.

“Before God and his people I express my sorrow for the sins and grave crimes of clerical sexual abuse committed against you. And I humbly ask forgiveness."

He also begged forgiveness for the "sins of omission" on the part of Church leaders who did not respond appropriately to reports of abuse which only deepened the pain of victims while it endangered other minors who remained at risk.

"There is no place in the Church’s ministry for those who commit these abuses, and I commit myself not to tolerate harm done to a minor by any individual, whether a cleric or not. All bishops must carry out their pastoral ministry with the utmost care in order to help foster the protection of minors, and they will be held accountable."

According to Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi, the pope later met with the victims and their companions.

“After breakfast, the Pope received the individual visitors, with their companions, for a private personal discussion in a room in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, one after the other," Father Lombardi explained.

"The discussions lasted from 9 a.m. to around 12.20 p.m. The participants, after the discussions, expressed their emotion and their satisfaction at having been listened to by the Pope with such attention and willingness.”

Fr. Lombardi concluded: “The Pope showed that listening helps to understand and prepare the way to reinstate trust, heal wounds, and to open up the possibility of reconciliation with God and with the Church.”

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