The church’s response to sexual abuse scandals has become one of the defining issues of Francis’ time as pope, and he told CNN Portugal that every case of abuse within the church “hurts” him. Many reports detailing decades of sexual abuse, systemic failures and cover-ups in many countries have been published since Francis became the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics in 2013. While he has been criticized for some of his actions — such as when he defended a Chilean bishop who was accused of covering up a sex scandal in 2018, a decision he later described as a “serious mistake” — has since taken a firm stand on the issues and introduced some reforms. In 2019, he overturned the Vatican’s privacy rules on sex cases abuse and introduced new rules that made it mandatory for all dioceses for the first time to set up abuse reporting and cover-up systems. Two years later, he issued the most extensive revision of Catholic Church law in four decades, insisting that bishops must take action against clergy who abuse minors and vulnerable adults. The rules also called for action against priests who commit fraud or attempt to ordain women. Addressing the issue, Francis said he did not believe celibacy played a role in causing the abuse. “I’m not denying the abuse, even if it was just one [case], it’s monstrous. Because you, papa, you, nun, have to take that boy, that girl to God and with that you are ruining their life. It’s monstrous. It destroys lives. And then they come to you with questions. It could be that celibacy [is to blame]? It’s not about celibacy,” he said. “That’s one thing about abuse, it’s a destructive thing, humanly diabolical,” he said. “In families there is no celibacy and all that and sometimes it happens. So it’s just the monstrosity of a church man or woman who is psychologically sick or evil and uses their position for their personal gratification,” he added. .
Criticism of war comments
The Pope also revealed that he had been in contact with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking to him on the phone. He said he has previously met both Zelensky and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin when they visited him in Rome. But when asked what he could say to the two, the Pope said: “I don’t know. “I had a dialogue with both of them [of them]. They both visited me here before the war. And I always believe that in dialogue we always move forward,” the Pope said. “You know who doesn’t know how to talk? Animals. It’s pure instinct.” Francis has been criticized for some of his comments on Russia’s war in Ukraine. In an interview in June with the Italian newspaper La Stampa, Francis said the war “maybe in some way was either caused or not avoided. He said that before Russia invaded Ukraine he met with “a head of state” who was “very concerned about how NATO was moving”. Last month, the Pope angered Kyiv by naming Russian political commentator Darya Dugina, the daughter of an ultranationalist philosopher, as among the war’s “innocent” victims after she was killed by a car bomb on the outskirts of Moscow. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry summoned the Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, to discuss Francis’ statement, saying it “unfairly” equates “the aggressor and the victim.” The pope, who has previously said he would be willing to travel to Kyiv and Moscow, told CNN Portugal that such a visit was “up in the air.” No Pope has ever traveled to Moscow. Pope John Paul II traveled to Ukraine in 2001. He said he could not travel at the moment because of problems with his knee, but said his presence in Ukraine was “strong” because he had sent several cardinals to Kyiv to represent him.
