Alva Review-Courier -

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Pope Francis met on Tuesday with survivors of priests who sexually abused them, wept with them and apologized for the "irreparable damage" they suffered, his spokesman said.

The pontiff also acknowledged the "pain" of priests who have been held collectively responsible for the crimes of a few, Vatican spokesman Greg Burke told reporters at the end of the day.

Francis dove head-first into Chile's sex abuse scandal on his first full day in Santiago that came amid unprecedented opposition to his visit: Three more churches were torched overnight, including one burned to the...