On eve of investigation, Vatican says Pope Francis meets sex abuse victims often

Pope Francis regularly meets with victims of sexual abuse, the Vatican said on Thursday, a disclosure that follows intense criticism of his defence of a Chilean bishop accused of covering up abuse.

Vatican spokesman Greg Burke confirmed comments the pope made in private during a visit to Peru last month which were reported on Thursday by Civilta Cattolica, a journal of the Jesuit religious order.

“The Holy Father meets victims of sexual abuse, either individually or in groups, several times a month,” Burke said in a statement, adding that the pope “tries to help them heal the grave wounds caused by the abuses they suffered.”

Remarks the pope made last month have created one of the greatest image crises of his papacy, which marks its fifth anniversary next month.

Francis initially said accusations against the Chilean bishop were “slander” and told reporters aboard his plane returning from Latin America the Vatican had received no concrete evidence against him.

But days later, in a remarkable U-turn, he appointed the Church’s most experienced sexual abuse investigator to look into the accusations that Bishop Juan Barros of the diocese of Osorno in Chile had covered up sexual crimes against minors.