September 2018 Archives

"You can see the pain in his face, and I felt he was sincere," Bono said of the pope during a meeting at the Vatican.

By Carol Kuruvilla, Huffington Post

U2 musician Bono said he had a hard conversation with Pope Francis about the sexual abuse scandal that has been roiling the Irish singer's homeland.

Francis was "aghast" about sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church, Bono told reporters after a private meeting with the pontiff at the Vatican on Wednesday.

"I explained to him how it looks to some people that the abusers are being more protected than the victims," Bono said, according to Reuters.

The singer said Francis appeared deeply troubled by this.

"You can see the pain in his face, and I felt he was sincere," Bono said.

"I think he is an extraordinary man for extraordinary times."

A spokesman for the singer later elaborated that Bono believes Francis is "the leader to put this right and change people's perceptions that the church is doing more to protect the abusers rather than the victims," according to The Irish Times.