ROME — Pope Francis launched the second phase of his big Catholic reform project on Tuesday by asking forgiveness for a host of sins, reasoning that the church must atone for its transgressions if it wants to reestablish credibility with the faithful.

Fresh from a difficult visit to Belgium, where the church's clergy sex abuse scandal and its treatment of women troubled him at every turn, 87-year-old Francis led top cardinals in apologizing for everything from the destruction of the planet to the discrimination of women and rejection of migrants.

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