DUBLIN (IRELAND)
Irish Times
August 25, 2018
By Simon Carswell
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/pope-francis-speaks-of-failure-to-address-repugnant-crimes-of-clerical-sex-abuse-1.3607788
Failure ‘rightly given rise to outrage and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community’
Pope Francis, in the first speech of his visit to Ireland, has recognised how the Church’s failure to address the “repugnant crimes” of clerical sexual abuse “remains a source of pain and shame” for Irish Catholics.
Speaking at Dublin Castle almost two hours after landing in Ireland, the pontiff in addressing the scandal that has damaged the Church’s standing since the last visit of a pope almost four decades ago, said he was “very conscious” of the circumstances of “our most vulnerable brothers and sisters.”
Speaking after a speech by the Taoiseach, the pope specifically made reference to “women who in the past have endured particularly difficult situations” – a veiled reference to the treatment of Irish women in the Magdalene Laundries and other Church-run institutions.
“With regard to the most vulnerable, I cannot fail to acknowledge the grave scandal caused in Ireland by the abuse of young people by members of the Church charged with responsibility for their protection and education,” Francis, speaking in Italian, told an audience that included Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
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