Pope says church 'wounded by her own sin'

Francis made the comment in the homily of Mass for priests, nuns, and members of Catholic lay organisations in Panama City, where he is attending a global gathering of Catholic youth.

He has called a summit of the heads of national Catholic churches at the Vatican next month to discuss the issue.

The meeting offers a chance for him to respond to criticism from victims of abuse that he has not done enough to make bishops accountable.

In his homily, Francis spoke of "the weariness of hope (that) comes from seeing a Church wounded by her own sin" and of a church "which so often failed to hear all those cries".

He used the words "weary," "wearisome" or "weariness" about 20 times in the homily.

Brenda Noriega, a youth minister from California who was in a delegation that had lunch with the pope, said she brought up the sexual abuse crisis in the United States.

"The pope said it is a horrible crime. He reminded us that it is important to accompany the victims, to walk with them, and to be a united church," she said afterwards.

Last year, abuse crises exploded in several countries, particularly Chile and the United States.

Following accusations of a cover up of abuse in Chile, all 34 of the country's bishops offered their resignations.

Last August, the Church in the United States was rocked by a damning grand jury report on the sexual abuse of children by priests in Pennsylvania over a 70-year period.

Francis has urged predator priests who have sexually abused minors to turn themselves in, and has acknowledged that the Church had made serious errors in the past.

Australian Associated Press