IRELAND
Global Post
The Pope has told Irish Catholics that it’s “a mystery” why priests and other clergy abused children entrusted in their care, lamenting that it undermined faith in the church in an “appalling” way.
In an eight-minute pre-recorded and widely cited address to almost 80,000 pilgrims in Dublin, the pontiff said:
“Thankfulness and joy at such a great history of faith and love have recently been shaken in an appalling way by the revelation of sins committed by priests and consecrated persons against people entrusted to their care.
“Instead of showing them the path towards Christ, towards God, instead of bearing witness to his goodness, they abused people and undermined the credibility of the Church’s message.
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