VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI, making a rare direct comment on the sexual abuse crisis, promised Wednesday that the Roman Catholic Church would take action to deal with the widening scandal.

During his weekly audience here, Benedict told pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter’s Square that he met with abuse victims during a recent trip to Malta and “assured them of church action.”

“I shared their suffering and emotionally prayed with them,” the pope said, describing his visit on Sunday with eight Maltese men who said they had been molested by priests as youths.

After that meeting, the Vatican issued a statement saying that the pope had told the men that the church would investigate the allegations and bring to justice those responsible for the abuse. It would also “implement effective measures designed to safeguard young people in the future,” the statement said.