He may actually be starting to appreciate the problem. Maybe.
He made his comments in response to a question on the clerical child abuse scandal, while en route to Portugal.
Critics have previously accused the Vatican of attempting to blame the media and the Church's opponents for the escalation of the scandal.
But the Pope made clear its origin came from within the Church itself.
"Today we see in a truly terrifying way that the greatest persecution of the Church does not come from outside enemies, but is born of sin within the Church," the pontiff told reporters on a plane bound for Portugal.
