'Feel pain and shame at failure of church to tackle child abuse scandals'

August 25, 2018 17:43

The Pope has spoken of his pain and shame at the failure of church authorities to tackle the grave scandal of clerical abuse in Ireland.

On the first day of his historic Irish visit, the pontiff said people had a right to be outraged at the response of senior figures in the Catholic Church to the repellent crimes inflicted on young people.

In a speech at Dublin Castle, he also expressed hope that remaining obstacles to reconciliation in Northern Ireland could be overcome.

With the reverberations of a litany of church sex abuse scandals casting a shadow over the first papal visit to Ireland in almost 40 years, Francis confronted the issue in his address inside the castles St Patricks Hall.

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, he said.

The failure of ecclesiastical authorities bishops, religious superiors, priests and others adequately to address these repellent crimes has rightly given rise to outrage and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community.

I myself share those sentiments.

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