Pope Speaks Out against Sexual Abuse.
MCCAIN: Politics isn't beanbag. It's a tough business. It was a tough race. It was a tough campaign. And I enjoyed enormously feeling sorry for myself for about two weeks. You know, feeling sorry for yourself is a lot of fun. But then, I put it behind me and I moved on. You have got to put -- the people of Arizona don't expect me to hold a grudge for something that happened four or five years ago. And I don't hold a grudge. And I moved forward and I admire this president and I want to help him. And we have a very big agenda for the country and I want to assist him in carrying out that agenda.</s>VANIER: That was John McCain, speaking with CNN's Larry King in 2005. The legendary senator died Saturday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 81.</s>HOWELL: John McCain ran twice for the highest office in the land, twice for president but never won the office. That didn't stop him fighting for the ideals that he believed in. He was, at times, both a backer and a critic of his one-time Republican rival, the former president, George W. Bush. Opponents and allies are praising his tenacity, a maverick who spoke truth to power. As a Naval officer, prisoner of war and a statesman, John McCain served his country for six distinguished decades. We have more on his death and the legacy John McCain leaves behind in a moment. But first, other news that we are following. Pope Francis, speaking out on the sexual abuse scandals rocking the Catholic Church and apologizing.</s>VANIER: In Ireland on Saturday, the pope prayed before a candle, lit for the victims of sex abuse. And he met with eight abuse victims for an hour and a half. One person described it as a very powerful meeting. And another said that the pope was genuinely shocked. Speaking at Dublin Castle, the pope called the abuse "appalling crimes" and he said the outrage is justified.</s>POPE FRANCIS, PONTIFF, ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): The failure of the ecclesiastical authorities, bishops, previous priests and others to adequately address these appalling crimes has rightly given rise to a rage and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community. I myself share those sentiments.</s>VANIER: John Allen is CNN's senior Vatican analyst and author of "Crux," the independent website covering Catholicism. He joins us from Dublin.</s>VANIER: John, what is the reaction to the pope's words on sex abuse?</s>JOHN ALLEN, CNN SR. VATICAN ANALYST: Well, on the one hand, this is fairly strong language from Pope Francis. He used even stronger language last night during a festival of families in Coke Park, using a off-color Spanish term to refer to what you may loosely translate as the filth in the church that the clerical sexual abuse scandals represent. I think all of the statements of sensitivity and resolve are welcome. I think the fact that the pope met with victims, though it was widely expected, it was well received. On the other hand, it has to be said that there's a strong critical edge to much of the reaction here in Ireland. What a lot of people will say is they have heard this sort of thing before. They have heard popes and other senior church officials apologize for the sexual abuse crisis and acknowledge the gravity of what happened. What they are waiting for is indication of concrete action; that is, what precisely what the pope will do, specifically on the accountability not just for the crime but the cover-up, that is holding bishops and other senior officials responsible when they are aware of abuse charges but fail to act. To date, Pope Francis has not offered new details on that front. And therefore, I would say that most people I have spoken to here would give the pope a grade of incomplete.</s>VANIER: That brings up the question, is the church actively trying to stop abuse? Do they see it as a current problem that needs to be addressed and stopped? Or does the Vatican just intend to apologize for past scandals?</s>ALLEN: Look, in all fairness, the Catholic Church has taken dramatic steps forward over the last decade or so. The church has adopted aggressive policies for the prevention, the detection and the response to sexual abuse, so much so, that I know a lot of secular experts, people that work for Interpol or academics at secular universities, who will tell you that the Catholic Church is on the vanguard of that effort. The problem is that's a response to the sexual abuse of minors. It's not a response to the cover-up of the abuse. That's where I think most observers will tell you that the church is significantly lagging behind and that, until that gap in accountability is filled, I think it is very difficult to sell the church's response as comprehensive.</s>VANIER: All right, John Allen, reporting live from Dublin in Ireland. The pope will be shortly taking off and, for the next leg of his trip, he will be visiting the pilgrimage site in Knock, Ireland. We will be covering that and John will be with us for that as well. John, thank you very much. We will be right back, stay with us here on CNN.