“It invites all those who want to share the prophecy of the covenant of man and woman, which generates life and reveals God”, said the Pope in his homily before thousands of people on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
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Pope Francis has appealed for unity and family love in an open-air Mass in Philadelphia wrapping up his six-day visit to the United States and Cuba.
“Those who covered this up are guilty”, he said.
“I promise that all those responsible for the sexual abuse of children will be punished”, Francis later told a gathering of bishops, saying he felt “deep shame” about the acts.
A few comforting words he gave bishops at a meeting with them in Washington, D.C. – and which a few sex abuse victims groups criticized – were not meant to say, “Don’t worry, that was nothing”, Francis said. “All of us are part of that effort”.
“They’re little signs of tenderness, of affection and compassion”, said Pope Francis.
‘Sexual abuse is everywhere, ‘ the pontiff told reporters on his flight back to Rome on Monday.
“Fundamental relationships are being called into question, as is the very basis of marriage and the family”, Pope Francis said in the first-ever address of its kind to Congress. “I can only reiterate the importance and, above all, the richness and the beauty of family life”. “I am here as a pastor, but above all as a brother, to share your situation and to make it my own”, he said. “That is why our families, our homes, are true domestic churches”.
The scandal damaged the Catholic Church worldwide, eroding its moral authority and requiring costly legal settlements.
Pope Francis also stressed that he forgives priests who have abused children, but they in turn must be open to receiving forgiveness.
David Clohessy, who heads the Survivors Network of Abuse by Priests and was sexually assaulted by a priest as a child, said, “Every pope follows an arc”.
“To have a pope directly acknowledge that the church made a mistake not just for the crime but for the cover-up and he is determined to fix both, I think there’s significance there”, Allen added.
Dr Martin said he will discuss the matter at the Synod of Bishops and that we should know in the next three weeks if the Pope will come to Ireland.
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In it, Francis criticized Western society for providing young people “with so many options that they are dissuaded from starting a family”.
