Pope Francis thanks journalists for exposing sexual abuse cases

Vatican’s Pope Francis has thanked journalists from around the world for their helping uncover the sexual abuse scandals of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Pope has appreciated and thanked the journalists for carrying on their "mission"of journalism. He said it was extremely important that these cases were uncovered and presented infront of the world.

He thanked the journalists for stepping out of the newsrooms to discover and present what was happening around the world. This helps counter misinformation that is spread online these days, he said, and added that "not everything can be told through email, the phone, or a screen."

"(I) thank you for what you tell us about what is wrong in the Church, for helping us not to sweep it under the carpet, and for the voice you have given to the abuse victims," the Pope said.

The leader thanked the journalists while he was speaking at a ceremony to honour two veteran correspondents (Philip Pullella of Reuters and Valentina Alazraki of Mexico's Noticieros Televisa) who had spent their time covering the Vatican.

Pope Francis was talking about the sexual abuse scandals that had hit the headlines in 2002. Journalists had uncovered several cases where minors had been sexually assaulted and abused by clerics. It was revealed that there was a silent culture of concealment within the Church about these issues.

The exposure of these cases in 2002 continued and since then scandals have been making headlines across the globe. Recently, in October, it was revealed that more than 200,000 children have been abused by French clerics over the past 70 years.

While journalists have, in the past, accused Pope Francis of not acting quickly on these cases, the leader thanked the media houses for their work and said the journalists have "to explain the world, to make it less obscure, to make those who live in it less fear it".