Pope urges people to come to terms with abuse in the church

In the face of this grave evil, the ecclesial community is called upon to further strengthen its commitment to prevention and a culture of care, the Holy Father said at a meeting with Spanish bishops in Madrid.

The Church must respond "to this plague" with "listening, truth, justice and reparation". Among the most painful encounters were those with victims of abuse, said the head of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide on the third day of his visit to Spain. "Every injured person must find genuine attention, sincere care, protection and concrete ways to heal," he demanded at the headquarters of the Bishops' Conference.

On the flight to Madrid on Saturday, the Pope described the abuse scandals as an "open wound" in the Church. The Vatican had announced just hours before the visit that Leo would meet with some victims of abuse by clergy in Spain. This private meeting was expected to take place on Monday afternoon.

Ombudsman estimates the number of victims in Spain at over 230,000

Spokespersons for victims' associations reiterated on Monday that they knew nothing about an invitation from the Pope. They criticized the fact that the 70-year-old US-American probably only wanted to meet with a few victims in Spain and in private. Apparently the aim was to "hide" the issue, several association spokespeople complained to journalists.

In Spain, the government and the church only signed an agreement in March to compensate victims of abuse in church institutions, which the left-wing government in Madrid described as "groundbreaking worldwide". While the Spanish Bishops' Conference speaks of a good 1,000 documented cases since 1940, the ombudsman assumes at least 236,000 victims based on a recent survey.