Pressure is mounting on Pope Francis to resign after a grand jury report in Pennsylvania found that possibly more than 1,000 children in six dioceses had been sexually abused by about 300 priests or higher ranking officials.

Pope Francis on Sunday in Dublin renewed his plea for forgiveness for all kinds of abuse of power practised by members of the church and all its institutions.

Pope Francis says clergy sex abuse scandals are an “open wound” that must be treated with “firm and decisive” action.

Pope Francis in Ireland Sunday “begged for God’s forgiveness” for the child sexual abuse scandal rocking the church but faced accusations by a former Vatican official that he had personally ignored allegations against senior clergy.

Pope Francis should rid the Catholic Church of “every rotten apple” and announce concrete measures against sexual abuse by the clergy during his visit to Ireland, a prominent Irish victim told said.

Pope Francis touched down in Dublin on Saturday for an historic two-day visit to Ireland, where the Catholic Church is battling to regain trust following multiple sexual abuse scandals.

Pope Francis on Monday asked forgiveness for child abuse crimes and cover-ups within the Catholic Church, admitting that the pain of victims “was long ignored, kept quiet or silenced.”

A Venezuelan archbishop, who served as Pope Francis’ ambassador to Mozambique was named on Wednesday as the Vatican’s new substitute of the Secretariat of State.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Philip Wilson, an Australian archbishop convicted in May of concealing abuse by a notorious paedophile priest in the 1970s, the Vatican said Monday.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Thursday urged Pope Francis to sack an Australian archbishop convicted of concealing child sex abuse.

Pope Francis has called Donald Trump‘s “zero tolerance” policy that leads to the separation of migrant children from their parents at the US-Mexico border “immoral”.

Pope Francis has called for a “change in mindset’’ on migration policies, saying international cooperation was vital, as Italy and France engaged in a diplomatic spat over the issue.

 Pope Francis has accepted the resignations of three Chilean bishops following sex abuse scandals, including Bishop Juan Barros of Osorno, the city at the centre of the uproar, the Vatican said on Monday.

Pope Francis has named 14 Roman Catholic prelates to the high rank of cardinal, the elite group of churchmen who are his closest advisers and can enter a conclave to choose his successor if they are under 80.

Pope Francis announced Sunday that he will hold a meeting of the Church’s top council to appoint 14 new cardinals next month, including from Iraq, Pakistan, Madagascar and Japan.