Pope Defends Sex-Abuse Response

In an interview with Il Corriere della Sera published Wednesday, Pope Francis defended the Catholic Church’s response to its sex-abuse scandal, declaring “The Catholic Church is perhaps the only public institution to have acted with transparency and responsibility. No one else has done more. Yet the church is the only one to have been attacked.” He also offered praise for Pope Benedict’s handling of the crisis, saying his predecessor was “very courageous and opened up a path" for the church to change. In February, the UN condemned the Vatican for its failures in stopping child abuse, and accused it of engaging in a massive coverup.