Pope Francis has condemned the “atrocities” of child sex abuse and cover-ups by the clergy in an open letter to the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics. Addressing a US Grand Jury report revealing decades of alleged sexual abuse inside the Catholic Church in Pennsylvania, the Pontiff described allegations against the Church as “crimes that inflict deep wounds of pain and powerlessness” in victims, their families and the religious community. The report detailed at least 1,000 cases of alleged sexual abuse committed by 300 “predator” priests in Pennsylvania — and what was a systematic cover-up by Church officials.



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