IRELAND
CNBC
DUBLIN (Reuters) – An envoy for Pope Benedict has apologized in person to child victims of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests, a gesture that highlights the Vatican’s concerns over its deteriorating status in Ireland.
Senior Vatican Cardinal Marc Ouellet travelled to the island of Lough Derg, in a remote corner of Ireland, on Tuesday to speak with victims in a meeting which lasted two hours.
The Church in predominantly Catholic Ireland has been rocked by a series of cases of child sex abuse stretching back decades and by church leaders’ complicity in covering them up.
Ireland announced last year it would close its embassy to the Vatican, one of the Catholic country’s oldest missions, after relations hit an all-time low over the Church’s handling of the sex abuse cases.
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