Stay humble and compassionate, Pope tells priests at ordination

Pope Francis with the newly ordained priests at St Peter’s Basilica (Andrew Medichini/AP)

Pope Francis gave the Catholic Church nine new priests on Sunday, encouraging them in an ordination ceremony in St Peter’s Basilica to be humble and compassionate and to stay close to the rank-and-file faithful, whose trust in clergy has been sorely tested by decades of sex abuse scandals.

Six men from Italy and one each from Romania, Colombia and Brazil professed obedience to the pontiff during the Mass on Sunday.