Pope Francis unexpectedly announced Sunday that he met with five victims of sex abuse, some of the group had been abused at the hands of Catholic clergy, and vowed to hold responsible parties "accountable."
The pope's remarks came during an address to bishops and seminarians in Philadelphia, one of the last stops on this United States tour.
"All responsible will be held accountable," reported America magazine, which covers the Catholic Church.
The remarks were something of a surprise:
The Pope just departed from his official text to address sex abuse in front of the bishops and seminarians.
“Those who have survived have become true heralds of mercy," Francis said, according to the Washington Post. "Humbly we owe each of them our gratitude for their courage. And they have had to suffer terrible abuse, sexual abuse of minors."
The pope met with five victims — three women and two men — for 30 minutes at St. Charles Borromeo seminary on his last day in the U.S. A Vatican spokesman said that not all of the victims the pope met with were abused by Catholic clergy, according to the Washing Post.
He prayed with them and shared their "pain and shame," spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi told AP, adding that Francis told them the guilty parties would be punished.
Francis also addressed the Supreme Court's legalization of same-sex marriage, telling U.S. bishops to stop complaining about the decision.
Here are the pope's full remarks to the sex abuse victims, as reported by the Catholic News Service:
The pope later met with inmates at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, where he sat in a wooden chair made by the prisoners.
Inmates file in and take seats at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility - waiting for #PopeFrancis
"It is painful when we see prison systems which are not concerned to care for wounds, to soothe pain, to offer new possibilities," Francis said. "It is painful when we see people who think that only others need to be cleansed, purified, and do not recognize that their weariness, pain and wounds are also the weariness, pain and wounds of society.
"The Lord tells us this clearly with a sign: he washes our feet so we can come back to the table. The table from which he wishes no one to be excluded. The table which is spread for all and to which all of us are invited.
"This time in your life can only have one purpose: to give you a hand in getting back on the right road, to give you a hand to help you rejoin society."
Francis then spoke with each inmate individually. Some were visibly overwhelmed.
Pope Francis greets prisoners. #PopeinPhilly
#PopeInPhilly in an emotional embrace with prisoner
Watch Francis's address, in Spanish, to the bishops here:
