Lithuanian president praises pope for his courage to reform Church

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė says that Pope Francis, who is ending his Baltic tour on Tuesday, deserves praise for his efforts to reform the Catholic Church despite enormous resistance.

"I saw a leader who carries a very heavy burden of responsibility not only for all of us, but also for the Church, for its past and for its mistakes," Grybauskaitė said in an interview with LRT Radio aired on Tuesday morning.

"This man now carries a huge cross and a burden for all those who have made mistakes and for the need to remedy these mistakes. And this pope is not afraid to do so. He is not afraid to speak about this. He faces great opposition, both within inside and outside the Church. And it's not easy for him," she added.

The Catholic Church has been rocked by sexual abuse scandals in the past months.