President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE weighed in on the sexual abuse scandal that has plagued the Catholic church, telling The Daily Caller in an interview published Wednesday that the wave of recent accusations has been "so sad to watch."

"The numbers, the length of time, you know, going back 70 years. I think it’s having a really negative impact on the Catholic Church," Trump told the conservative publication.

"I think it’s very sad, to me it’s one of the sadder stories ’cause I respect so much the Catholic Church," he continued. "And to me it’s a very sad story. The Pope is handling it, I guess, the best anyone can handle it. How is he going to handle it?”

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The Vatican was shaken last month by a grand jury report that detailed alleged sexual abuse by more than 300 priests in Pennsylvania going back decades. The report also alleged that church leaders covered up the alleged abuse.

Catholic officials called the acts described in the report "criminal and morally reprehensible."

The Pennsylvania report is only the latest instance of widespread allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic priests.

Trump told The Daily Caller that he was "surprised" at allegations against Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington, D.C.

McCarrick resigned last month after he was the subject of sexual abuse allegations. In June, he was removed from public ministry after church officials determined allegations that he abused a teenager decades ago were “credible.”

Pope Francis has at times clashed with Trump over policy, decrying his views on immigration and climate change. Earlier this year, the Pope said "populism is not the solution" when asked about the Trump administration's policy that led to the separation of migrant families.

Francis first hit at Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, when the Catholic leader suggested Trump "is not Christian" because of his repeated calls to build a wall along the southern U.S. border.