Pope Francis on Wednesday offered a surprise public apology from the Catholic Church for a series of scandals which have shaken the city of Rome and the Vatican. The Vatican has been the focus of several controversies including the coming out of a gay priest and the leak of a controversial letter, while the pontiff himself ended up in the headlines for a gaffe which helped oust Rome's mayor.
"I want, in the name of the Church, to ask forgiveness for the scandals which have recently hit Rome and the Vatican. I ask you for forgiveness," Francis said at the start of his weekly general audience on Saint Peter's Square.