London: Pope Francis said that he would show zero tolerance for anyone, including the clergy, who abused children, according to a report.
Speaking to reporters on an aircraft taking him back from his visit to West Asia, the Pope said he would meet with eight victims of child abuse in the church, next month at the Vatican, according to the Daily Mail.
“Sexual abuse is such an ugly crime, because a priest who does this betrays the body of the Lord. It is like a satanic Mass,' he said in some of the toughest language he has used on a crisis that has rocked the Church for more than a decade.
It was not clear if the Pope also meant zero tolerance for bishops who are not accused of being abusers but who are accused of having turned a blind eye to abuse in their dioceses.
Also, Pope Francis and Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu traded words over the language spoken by Jesus. “'Jesus was here, in this land.
He spoke Hebrew,” Mr Netanyahu told the Pope at a a public meeting in Jerusalem. “Aramaic,” the Pope interjected, according to a report.
“He spoke Aramaic, but he knew Hebrew,” Netanyahu shot back.
