Pope begs for abuse scandal forgiveness

Surrounded by 15,000 white-robed priests the pope begged forgiveness from clerical abuse victims today and promised to “do everything possible” to protect the world’s children.

While symbolic, the pledge at a mass in St. Peter’s Square failed to satisfy victims groups, which said promises were useless without a clear-cut action plan to root out paedophile priests, expose the bishops who protected them and change the Vatican policies and culture that allowed the abuse to continue for decades.