Before the Vatican summit, Pope Francis asks for pardon for the abuse and treatment of women

Pope Francis led a prayer service Tuesday asking for forgiveness for the Catholic Church’s mistakes, including clergy’s treatment of women and victims of sexual abuse, as Catholic leaders prepared to begin a month-long summit at the Vatican.

During the ceremony in the Basilica of St. Peter’s Church, an abuse victim’s testimony told the hundreds of bishops present that the abuse scandals “have shaken the faith of millions (and) tarnished the reputation of an institution to which many look for guidance.”

Francis returned on Sunday from a trip to Belgium, where he faced the harshest criticism ever during one of his foreign trips.

The country’s king and prime minister called for more concrete action to address the abuse scandals, and the leaders of two Catholic universities condemned the pope’s stance on the role of women in the church and society.

As part of Tuesday’s service, seven cardinals – the highest number after the pope in a church with 1.4 billion members worldwide – asked for pardon for various church offenses.

Francis told participants that he wrote the petitions himself “because it was necessary to call our sins by name.”

Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the retiring archbishop of Boston who heads the Vatican’s commission on clergy sexual abuse, has asked for forgiveness for the abuse.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, a former bishop of Dallas who heads the Vatican’s secular affairs department, asked for a pardon “for all the cases in which we have failed to recognize and defend the dignity of women.”

Francis said the service was intended to “begin to heal the wounds that never stop bleeding.”

“We ask forgiveness with shame from those who have been wounded by our sins,” the pope said.

The Vatican summit, known as the synod, begins on Wednesday. The meeting is attended by cardinals, bishops and lay people from over 110 countries. At the end of October, synod members will vote on the final text, which may suggest doctrinal changes.

An earlier summit last year included discussions on divisive issues such as the ordination of women and blessings for same-sex couples. But most of the hottest issues at this gathering have been assigned to study groups that will issue final reports to Francis, who is 87, next June.