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| Pope Francis holds first meeting with sex abuse victims | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Pope Francis has met the victims of sexual abuse by priests for the first time since his election last year. | |
| He received the six victims - two each from Ireland, Britain and Germany - at his residence after they attended a private morning Mass in the Vatican. | |
| The Pope has vowed to punish clergy who have abused children, describing their actions as "satanic". | The Pope has vowed to punish clergy who have abused children, describing their actions as "satanic". |
| The Church has been heavily criticised for failing to tackle abuse, following a series of scandals worldwide. | The Church has been heavily criticised for failing to tackle abuse, following a series of scandals worldwide. |
| Some victims have also criticised Pope Francis for having failed to meet their representatives sooner. | Some victims have also criticised Pope Francis for having failed to meet their representatives sooner. |
| The Pope's predecessor, Pope Benedict, met abuse victims several times on trips outside Italy. | The Pope's predecessor, Pope Benedict, met abuse victims several times on trips outside Italy. |
| Former envoy convicted | |
| Pope Francis last year strengthened the Vatican's laws against child abuse. | Pope Francis last year strengthened the Vatican's laws against child abuse. |
| He has also set up a committee, whose members include a cardinal and an abuse victim, to draw up plans to tackle exploitation by priests. | He has also set up a committee, whose members include a cardinal and an abuse victim, to draw up plans to tackle exploitation by priests. |
| The committee is expected to announce on Monday that it will expand to include more members from the developing world, Reuters news agency reports. | The committee is expected to announce on Monday that it will expand to include more members from the developing world, Reuters news agency reports. |
| Last month, a Vatican tribunal convicted Josef Wesolowski, a former papal envoy to the Dominican Republic, of sex abuse and stripped him of the priesthood. | |
| Wesolowski is the highest-ranking Vatican official to have been investigated over abuse claims. |