ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE — Pope Francis on Tuesday acknowledged the scandal of priests and bishops sexually abusing nuns and vowed to do more to fight the problem. Francis admitted to the problem for the first time in public while returning to Rome from the United Arab Emirates. In two weeks, he hosts a gathering of bishops to craft a global response to the scandal of priests who target children and the superiors who covered up the crimes.

Francis, asked about priests who target the religious sisters and whether the Holy See might consider a similar universal approach to combat that issue, said, “It’s not that everyone does this, but there have been priests and bishops who have. And I think that it’s continuing because it’s not like once you realize it that it stops. It continues. And for some time we’ve been working on it. Should we do something more? Yes. Is there the will? Yes. But it’s a path that we have already begun.”