"Before beginning my catechesis, I would like — in the name of the Church — to ask your forgiveness for the scandals which have occurred recently both in Rome and at the Vatican," the Pope said. "I ask your forgiveness."

The Pope's off-the-cuff remarks Oct. 14 followed a reading from St. Matthew's Gospel in which Jesus warns of scandalizing the "little ones."

"Jesus' words are strong, aren't they?" the Pope said. "'Woe to the world for scandals.' Jesus is a realist. He says it's inevitable that there will be scandals, but 'Woe to the one who causes the scandal,'" the Pope told people attending his weekly general audience.

Pope Francis did not explain what scandal or scandals he was referring to, but his comments came during a week that saw the leak of a private letter sent to him by several cardinals expressing concern with aspects of the Synod of Bishops on the family.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told reporters later, "if the Pope uses a broad and general formula, that is what he intended" and it is not up to the spokesman to offer specifics.