Pope Francis met on Wednesday with 13 victims of sexual abuse within the Church in Portugal, during his visit for World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon, in an atmosphere of "intense listening".
The pontiff met for more than an hour with the victims at the Nunciature, where they were accompanied by some representatives of the Portuguese ecclesial institutions in charge of the protection of minors, the Vatican confirmed.
"The meeting took place in a climate of intense listening and lasted more than an hour, ending shortly after 8:15 p.m.," he said.
The meeting, which was not included in Francis' official agenda and whose details have been kept secret until now, took place at the end of the institutional and ecclesial meetings scheduled in Lisbon.
During the meeting, the Pope asked the victims to tell their stories, interacted with them and finally asked for their forgiveness on behalf of the Portuguese Church, according to Portuguese media.
The pontiff, who on previous occasions had already encountered victims of pedophilia by the clergy, also expressed his desire that the Church be a "safe" space.
Also participating in the meeting was the Portuguese psychiatrist Pedro Strecht, who led the independent commission that recently investigated the dimension of sexual abuse in the Portuguese Church.
This commission concluded, with a report published in February, that since 1950 there have been at least 4,800 victims of pedophilia in the country and gave the Church a list of suspected priests.
The response of the Portuguese Church was criticized in the country, since at first it did not move forward to separate the priests under suspicion and left the decision in the hands of the dioceses.
Pope Francis referred to the scandal during his first homily at WYD, assuring that what happened has "disfigured" the face of the Church and asked "to always welcome and listen" to the victims of abuse.
This was stated during Vespers with the bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated men and women, seminarians and pastoral agents that took place in the Jerónimos Monastery.
The Pontiff indicated that, at times, priests and religious can experience "fatigue" in the midst of worlds "increasingly marked by secularism", with a "growing distance from the practice of the faith", adding that this is accentuated by the "rage" of some by the "bad testimony" of the Church and by the "scandals".
"This is often accentuated by the disappointment and anger that some feel towards the Church, in some cases because of our bad testimony and the scandals that have disfigured her face and that call for a humble and constant purification, starting from the cry of pain of the victims, who must always be welcomed and listened to," he stressed.
"It is very sad when a person who has consecrated his life to God becomes an official, a mere administrator of things," he warned.
Pope Francis arrived in Lisbon on Wednesday, where he will remain until Sunday on the occasion of WYD, which plans to bring together more than a million faithful in the Portuguese capital.
