Pope Francis News: Pontiff Seeks Forgiveness for Recent Vatican Scandals

Pope Francis proves his humility in spite the power and influence he holds after he apologized for the scandals that bedeviled the Catholic Church in behalf of his fellow servants of Christ.

Wednesday saw an unexpected turn of events as the Pontiff issued a public apology a three-week conference on family issues attended by hundreds of bishops from all over the world.

"Before I begin the catechesis I would like in the name of the church to ask your forgiveness for the scandals which have recently fallen on Rome and the Vatican," he told the faithful who assembled during the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday.

According to the New York Times, the Pope did not specify or elaborate on which scandals he was apologizing for and humbly said: "I ask for your forgiveness."

The Associate Press as cited by Yahoo also noted how even his spokesperson declined to explain or give details about the 'off-the-cuff request for pardon' though there had been no question about the Vatican or the Catholic Church getting into some scandalous issues lately.

One notable example is a Vatican monsignor who was dismissed after coming out as gay with his boyfriend and openly denounced homophobia in the Catholic Church.

Following this 'scandal' is the resignation of Rome's Mayor Ignazio Marino in the midst of criticism for what BBC described as a "slow start in the city's preparations for the holy year."

According to the outlet, Mayor Marino had been criticized for being incompetent in preparing for the celebration of the Jubilee Year of Mercy this December where millions of pilgrims from all over the globe are expected to attend.

Another issue which most probably merits an apology from the Pope, says the Associate Press, involves a priest in Rome who reportedly had sexual relations with several men with his superior's knowledge.

While this may not be a common thing past leaders of the Catholic Church had done, it is no surprise to witness Pope Francis, who had been lovingly dubbed as the "People's Pope," apologizing for the sins of others.

"The word of Jesus is strong today, woe to the world because of scandals. Jesus is a realist. He says it is inevitable that there will be scandals. But woe to the man who causes scandals," he told the pilgrims.

Despite the positive effect of this unexpected apology, Pope Francis was still criticized for not acting "more decisively" on the matter.

"It's more important that Francis stop abuse than that we forgive him for it. But that takes courage, the courage that popes and bishops continue to lack," the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said in a statement.