“I feel called to take responsibility for all the evil some priests…have committed and to ask forgiveness for the damage they’ve done [because of] the sexual abuse of children,” Pope Francis said, speaking at the International Catholic Child Bureau meeting in Rome on April 11. “The church is aware of this damage,” he said, and is committed to strengthening child protection programs and punishing offenders. The remarks are among the pope’s strongest on the sex abuse scandal. In December, Pope Francis established a Vatican commission to promote improved child protection policies throughout the church. Meeting with leaders of the International Catholic Child Bureau, an organization based in France and dedicated to defending children’s rights, Pope Francis said it was hard to believe “men of the church” would commit such horrors. “We don’t want to take a step backward in dealing with this problem and with the sanctions that must be imposed,” the pope said. “On the contrary, I believe we must be very strong. You don’t play with children’s lives!”

This article appears in April 28-May 5 2014.