Pope Francis wraps up historic visit to the United States

The rare criticism that did Pope Francis elicit was the omission – from his public agenda at least – of a meeting with victims of pedophile priests, but on Sunday he met privately with five adults abused as children.

Dr Martin said it was too early to say if the Pope would attend the event in 2018 and that he did not discuss an invitation with him about a visit.

Wrapping up the six-day United States trip, the 78-year-old Argentine Pope celebrated Mass outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a neoclassical edifice astride a rocky hill overlooking the Schuylkill River, before the largest crowd of his visit.

“I hold the stories and the suffering and the sorrow of children who were sexually abused by priests deep in my heart”.

Pope Francis delivers the homily as he celebrates mass at the World Meeting of Families at Benjamin Franklin Parkway iSeptember 27, 2015 n Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Francis also told journalists that while he is willing to forgive clergy who have abused children and young people, he understands why there are a few who find this hard.

“I am profoundly sorry that your innocence was violated by those who you trusted”, said the Pope.

The group is serving as volunteer travelers for a group of 400 from throughout Michigan who came to Philadelphia to see the Pope.

Francis has said he would work to rid the church of the sexual abuse of minors and in June announced the creation of a special Vatican tribunal to judge bishops accused of covering up or failing to prevent abuse. I pledge the zealous vigilance of the Church to protect children and the promise of accountability for all.

“Words can not fully express my sorrow for the abuse you suffered”, Francis told the victims, three women and two men.

He also called for prison systems that focus on the rehabilitation of prisoners to enable them to rejoin society after completing their sentences, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“To have a pope directly acknowledge that the church made a mistake not just for the crime but for the cover-up and he is determined to fix both, I think there’s significance there”, Allen added.

The apostolic journey concluded with his visit to Philadelphia, a city that was struck hard by the clerical sex abuse crisis. “We got to make a sacrifice sooner or later so this is our sacrifice to the lord”, said Talia Bailey of Mayfield.

“We know the abuses are everywhere in families in the neighborhoods, in the schools, in the gyms”, he said.