Pope Francis prayed that the Holy Spirit would “sustain” summit participants and “help us to turn this evil into an opportunity for awareness and purification.”

Cardinal Tagle urged church leaders not to shy away from acknowledging the pain of victims.

The summit began Feb. 21 with the harrowing stories of survivors of sexual abuse, cover-up and rejection by church officials.

Opening the Vatican summit on the clerical sexual abuse crisis, the pope said, “The holy people of God are watching and are awaiting from us not simple, predictable condemnations, but concrete and effective measures.”

Frederic Martel boldly told reporters at a press conference at the Foreign Press Association in Rome on Feb. 20 that “the great majority” of the more than 200 members of the College of Cardinals are leading double lives.

British government inquiry into the sexual abuse crisis that continues to shake the Catholic Church has focused on the actions of the Vatican’s diplomatic service — its network of papal nuncios around the world.