Pope Francis has concluded his extraordinary summit on preventing clergy sex abuse by vowing to confront abusers with "the wrath of God".
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He also pledge to end the cover-ups by their superiors and prioritise victims of this "brazen, aggressive and destructive evil."
The Pontiff delivered his remarks at the end of Mass on Sunday before 190 Catholic bishops and religious superiors summoned to Rome after a renewed explosion of the clergy abuse scandal sparked a credibility crisis in the Catholic hierarchy and in Francis' own leadership.
The Jesuit pope noted that the vast majority of sexual abuse happens in the family.
But he said the evil of sexual abuse of children becomes even more scandalous when it occurs in the Catholic Church "for it is utterly incompatible with her moral authority and ethical credibility."
Australian Associated Press
