TRUJILLO, Peru (Reuters) – A key U.S. cardinal distanced himself on Saturday from comments by Pope Francis on sexual abuse, saying they had caused “great pain,” a remarkable move pointing to divisions in the Roman Catholic Church over how to treat accusers.

FILE PHOTO – Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston leads a procession of bishops and other followers as they walk to celebrate a mass at the United States and Mexico border near Nogales, Arizona April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Samantha Sais

The implicit public rebuke of the pope by one of his top advisers came after two days of pointed attacks from victims and their advocates, and was another setback for Francis’ attempts to come to grips with sexual abuse in the Church.

Cardinal Sean O‘Malley of Boston said in an unusually blunt statement that “it is understandable” that the pope’s comments in Chile on Thursday were “a source of great pain for survivors of sexual abuse by clergy or any other perpetrator.”