On June 13, Pope Francis met for 90 minutes with eight British and Irish men who were victims of abuse in a junior seminary in England in the 1960s and 1970s, according to the report. The seminary, now closed, was run by the Comboni Missionaries; the men, accompanied by Cardinal Vincent Nichols and Bishop Marcus Stock of Leeds.
The men expressed dissatisfaction with how the Comboni Missionaries have addressed their claims, and the Pope pledged to call the order’s superior. The Pope was “visibly shaken and upset,” and twice “asked for forgiveness for himself and for the Church,” a spokesman for the abuse survivors said.
The Diocese of Leeds and the BBC also reported on the meeting.