Child sex abuse is like satanic mass, says Pope Francis

Pope Francis said he will have his first meeting with a group of sex abuse victims at the Vatican early next month and would show zero tolerance for anyone in the Catholic Church who abused children, including bishops.

Asked about whether he would move against bishops who were accused of sexual abuse, he said “there will be no daddy’s boys” and no privileges, adding that three bishops were currently under investigation.

“Sexual abuse is such an ugly crime... because a priest who does this betrays the body of the Lord,” said Pope Francis. “It is like a satanic mass,” he said in some of the toughest language he has used on a crisis that has rocked the Church for over a decade. “We must go ahead with zero tolerance.”

Francis said he would meet with eight victims, two possibly from Ireland, and Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley of Boston, who is head of a commission set up to study ways of dealing with the crisis.

However, the US-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said the Pope’s comments did not go far enough.

“No child rape will be prevented, no abuse cover- up will be prevented, and no predator priest will be exposed by anything the pope said today or will do next month,” Joelle Casteix, western regional director of SNAP, said yesterday in a statement. “His upcoming and self-serving meeting with victims is more of what we’ve seen for decades — more gestures, promises, symbolism, and public relations.”

Speaking to reporters for nearly an hour on the plane taking him back from a visit to the Middle East, the Pope looked alert despite the gruelling three-day trip and overruled a spokesman who said the airborne news conference should be cut short to allow him to rest.

The 77-year-old pontiff fielded questions on a range of topics, including Vatican finances, priestly celibacy, his concern for the environment, and whether he would one day retire like his predecessor Benedict XVI instead of serving for life. The concept of a “pope emeritus” could someday become normal in the Church, he said.

During his trip, he invited Israeli president Shimon Peres and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to the Vatican next month.

He said that the meeting would not be a mediation but a prayer meeting that he hoped could encourage the stalled peace process.

The Pope said he believes Catholic priests should be celibate but the rule was not an unchangeable dogma, and “the door is always open” to change. It was something he said before his election but it was the first time he made the remark as Pope.

Francis said the victims, several from Europe, would attend his morning Mass and then he would meet with them. It will be the first time for Francis to meet sexual abuse victims since his election in March 2013.

It was not clear, however, if the Pope also meant zero tolerance for bishops who are not accused of being abusers themselves but who are accused of having turned a blind eye to abuse by priests in their dioceses or who may have covered up abuse scandals.