'We showed no care for the little ones': Pope's letter vows to end sex abuse, coverups

Pope Francis, facing simultaneous clergy sexual abuse crises in several countries, has written an unprecedented letter to the world's Catholics, asking them to help uproot "this culture of death" and vowing there would be no more coverups.

In a highly personal letter addressed to "the people ofGod," Church language for all members, the Pope appeared to be launching an appeal for all Catholics to face the crisistogether and not let it tear the church apart.

The Catholic Church in the United States, Chile, Australia,and Ireland where the Pope is making a two-day visit this weekend are reeling from crises involving sexual abuse ofminors. Numerous surveys have pointed to plummeting confidence in the church in those countries and elsewhere.

He needs an effective discipline process for bishops and religious superiors who are known to have enabled abuse.- Anne Barrett-Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.or

In his letter, the Pope referred to the suffering endured byminors due to sexual abuse at the hands of a "significant numberof clerics and consecrated persons."

The Vatican said it was the first time a pope had written toall of the world's some 1.2 billion Catholics about sexual abuse. Past letters on sexual abuse scandals have been addressedto bishops and faithful of individual countries.

"We have realized that these wounds never disappear and thatthey require us forcefully to condemn these atrocities and joinforces in uprooting this culture of death," he wrote.

"With shame and repentance, we acknowledge as an ecclesialcommunity that we were not where we should have been, that wedid not act in a timely manner, realizing the magnitude and thegravity of the damage done to so many lives. We showed no carefor the little ones; we abandoned them."

More actions, less words.- AnneBarrett-Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org

Advocates for victims of clergy sexual abuse expresseddisappointment.

"More actions, less words," said AnneBarrett-Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, aU.S.-based resource centre that tracks cases of clerical abuseworldwide.

"He needs an effective discipline process for bishops andreligious superiors who are known to have enabled abuse."

Last week, a grand jury in Pennsylvaniareleased the findings of the largest-ever investigation of sexabuse in the U.S. Catholic Church, finding that 301 priests inthe U.S. state had sexually abused minors over the past 70 years.

Pennsylvania's top law enforcement official saidhe hopes the state's Roman Catholic leaders will "cease their denials and deflections" about thegrand jury report. Attorney General Josh Shapiro, whose office ran the investigation,saidthe pope's letter"acknowledges the painful truth."

He saidchurch leaders should support recommendations that include expanding the state's statute of limitations.

Letter offers no solution: Victim

A man who testified to thegrand jury that he was molested repeatedly by a priest as a teenager says the pope's letter offers no solutions in the Catholic Church's approach to fighting child sexual abuse by priests.

Jim Faluszczaksaid Monday that if Franciscan't immediately offer solutions, he should step aside so Roman Catholics can find another pope who can.Faluszczak suggested the pope strip titles from certain church officials.

The 49-year-old Faluszczak became a priest, but has left active ministry and now works with sexual abuse victims.

Pope Francisacknowledged "the heart-wrenching pain of thesevictims, which cries out to heaven, was long ignored, keptquiet or silenced."

"Looking ahead to the future, no effort must be spared tocreate a culture able to prevent such situations from happening,but also to prevent the possibility of their being covered upand perpetuated," he said.

He also acknowledged that the implementation of a zerotolerance had been "delayed" in some places.

Search for accountability

Victims' groups have said that while new policies have beenput inplace in several countries to alert civil authoritiesabout cases of abuse, the Pope still needsto do more to holdaccountable bishops who covered it up, mostly by moving priestsfrom parish to parish.

In his first direct response to the U.S. grand jury report,Francis said that while most cases it listed "belong to thepast," it was clearthe abuse cited "was long ignored, keptquiet or silenced."

Last month, Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop ofWashington, D.C., and one of the U.S. church's most prominentfigures, stepped down as a cardinal after accusations that heabused two minors about 50 years ago and later abused adultseminarians.

He was believed to be the first cardinal to lose his red hatin nearly a century and the first ever for alleged sexual abuse.

In May, all 34 of Chile's bishops offered their resignationto the Pope over a widening sexual abuse crisis there. He has sofar accepted five of the resignations.

With files from The Associated Press