The pope promised that guidelines used by national bishops conferences to prevent abuse and punish perpetrators will be reviewed and strengthened. He also said the Church legal definition of minor will be raised from the current age of 14 in order to “expand protection” of young people.

But advocates for victims expressed deep disappointment, saying Francis merely repeated old promises and offered few new concrete proposals.

Francis vowed that the Roman Catholic Church would “spare no effort” to bring abusers to justice and will not cover up or underestimate abuse as he spoke at the end of a Mass in the frescoed Sala Regia of Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.

However, Francis dedicated much of the first part of a speech lasting more than half an hour to statistics from the United Nations and other organizations showing that most sexual abuse of children takes place in families.

“We are thus facing a universal problem, tragically present almost everywhere and affecting everyone. Yet we need to be clear, that while gravely affecting our societies as a whole, this evil is in no way less monstrous when it takes place within the Church,” he said.

Anne Barrett-Doyle of the U.S.-based clergy abuse tracking group bishopaccountability.org, called it a “stunning letdown” that did not sufficiently address the grief and outrage of the faithful.

“As the world’s Catholics cry out for concrete change, the Pope instead provides tepid promises, all of which we’ve heard before,” she said in a statement.

“Especially distressing was the pope’s familiar rationalization that abuse happens in all sectors of society ... We needed him to offer a bold and decisive plan. He gave us instead defensive, recycled rhetoric,” she said.

Speaking later in his traditional public Sunday address in St. Peter’s Square, Francis said past cover-ups by some in the Church and the protecting of abusers was “unjustifiable”.

The Vatican says it will formulate follow-up measures to make sure all bishops from around the world return home knowing how to put anti-abuse procedures into place.

The conference brought together bishops from countries such as the United States, where cases of abuse have fallen dramatically because of measures enacted nearly 20 years ago, and bishops from far-flung countries, mostly poor countries who still have not come to terms with the problem.