The Vatican expresses 'shame and sorrow' over the hundreds of sex abuse allegations described in Pennsylvania grand jury report

Associated Press/Andrew Medichini

Pope Francis celebrates a mass for nuns and priests in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017.

• The Vatican called the sex abuse detailed in the Pennsylvania grand jury report "criminal and morally reprehensible."
• The Vatican's statement comes days after its press office said that it had "no comment" on the report. 
• The pope has yet to personally respond to the report, which was released on Tuesday. 

The Vatican has called the sex abuse described in a grand jury report in Pennsylvania "criminal and morally reprehensible."

A grand jury on Tuesday released a report that accused 300 priests of sexually abusing 1,000 children over the past 70 years as Catholic Church leaders covered up the allegations.

The Vatican's statement comes days after its press office said that it had "no comment" on the report. 

In a statement released late Thursday, Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said "those acts were betrayals of trust that robbed survivors of their dignity and faith."

He said the words "shame and sorrow" expressed the Vatican's feelings when "faced with these horrible crimes."

"The acts described in the report are criminal and morally reprehensible," Burke said. "Those acts were betrayals of trust that robbed survivors of their dignity and their faith. The Church must learn hard lessons from its past, and there should be accountability for both abusers and those who permitted abuse to occur."

Burke noted that most of the report concerns abuses dating before the early 2000s, which is consistent with studies showing Catholic Church reform in the US had "drastically reduced the incidence of clergy child abuse" in recent years.

He added: "Victims should know that the Pope is on their side. Those who have suffered are his priority, and the Church wants to listen to them to root out this tragic horror that destroys the lives of the innocent."

Pope Francis has not personally responded to the Pennsylvania grand jury report. 

Hours after the report was released, the Pope tweeted: "Still today there are so many martyrs, so many who are persecuted for the love of Christ. They are the real strength of the church!"

And at his general audience at St Peter's Square on Wednesday, Pope Francis did not comment on the sex abuse scandal.

Read the full report here:

If you have suffered abuse at the hands of Pennsylvania Catholic priest and would like to talk it, email kmclaughlin@businessinsider.com.

If you are a victim of sexual assault, you can visit RAINN or call its hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to receive confidential support from a trained staff member.