Pope thanks journalists for helping to expose clerical sexual abuse scandals

Pope Francis was speaking at a ceremony to honour two veteran correspondents. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)

Pope Francis on Saturday thanked journalists for helping uncover the clerical sexual abuse scandals that the Roman Catholic Church initially tried to cover up.

The pope praised what he called the "mission" of journalism and said it was vital for reporters to get out of their newsrooms and discover what was happening in the outside world to counter misinformation often found online.