But Your Holiness, what about you?

I actually have a fair degree of affection for Pope Francis, despite being an atheist, and find him a breath of fresh air in a stodgy, out-of-date institution. Of course I disagree with him on a bunch of things, but I think overall his intentions are good and that he's a good man. I really do.

But I agree with Rob that Pope F's calling the allegations "slander" was not exactly one of his finer moments.

I actually don't need the guy to resign. But he and the entire Catholic church have some serious penance and work to do with regard to the church's long history of hushing up and dismissing such allegations, and they need to suck it up. It's fair enough to note that unproven allegations are unproven and that the accused have rights until they are proven. It's another to dismiss the allegations as slander, especially given how many past victims were silenced, with the church being actively complicit in their silencing. Pope Francis, as head of the church, needs to fully accept his share of the blame, and openly work towards addressing the issue. He and the church owe that to the victims.