Pope met the victims who were sexually abused by priests

Vatican says pope has met with victims who were sexually abused by priests in Germany, the Washington Post reports.

Pope Benedict XVI met with German victims of sexual abuse by priests and expressed "deep compassion and regret" at the suffering of those abused by members of the clergy, the Vatican said Friday, the ABC News reports.

The pope met for half an hour with five victims on the second day of his four-day state visit to his native Germany, following an ecumenical service with members of the country's Lutheran church and an evening vesper held in a small chapel nestled deep in the former East Germany.

Benedict has been accused by victims groups and their lawyers of being part of systematic practice of cover-up by church hierarchy for pedophile priests, in his earlier roles as an archbishop in Germany and later at the helm of the Vatican morals office.

The Vatican said in a statement following Friday's meeting that the pope was "moved and deeply shaken" and is close to the victims. He expresses the hope that God "may heal the wounds of the victims and grant them inner peace," the Vatican said.