Pope Francis Meets Sexual Abuse Victims in Philadelphia

Pope Francis did yet another astonishing act of kindness while visiting the United States – he recently visited a group of sexually abused victims while appearing in Philadelphia.

"God weeps for the sexual abuse of children," he said while in a private group setting with the victims. He further noted that those responsible for the abuse "will be held accountable."

The New York Times reports that the Pope delivered the above words before the speech that was prepared. Calling the survivors of abuse "true heralds of mercy," Pope Francis noted that we "owe each of them our gratitude for their values" because they were unwillingly forced to go through such horrific abuse.

 #popefrancis is my man. He's teaching Christians how to be #Christian again. He's done everything a pope should do by helping everyone regardless of faith, class, or ethnicity. Folks, Pope Francis is a leader and the pope we need. #ILoveThePope

A photo posted by Dawson (@the_real_slim_white_kid) on Sep 27, 2015 at 8:08am PDT

His comments unsurprisingly caused a shock, considering all of the child abuse scandals that have rocked the Catholic church over the years.

Pope Francis came to the United States in the beginning of last week, first landing in Washington D.C. where he was greeted by President of the United States Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. He then moved on to New York City and ended his tour in Philadelphia.

During his time in the United States, his Holiness managed to give Fiat some soon-to-be sales, as he was seen being picked up and greeting crowds around the East Coast in the famed Italian car.

One of my friends snapped a very cool pic of @pontifex visiting our #NYC #BiggestRockstarInTheWorld #PopeFrancis A photo posted by Theo Rossi (@theorossi) on Sep 26, 2015 at 5:54am PDT