Solidarity march with survivors in city centre
GRAMMY-nominated singer-songwriter Hozier and Mary Black are among the celebrities who will gather in solidarity with survivors of clerical abuse during Pope Francis’s visit this weekend.
Thousands of people are expected to attend a solidarity march with abuse victims at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin during the Papal Mass in the Phoenix Park.
Róisín O from Thanks Brother and Liam Ó Maonlaí are also set to perform at the Stand4Truth event. According to S4T’s press release, the event ‘is for everyone who has been harmed or abused by the institutional Roman Catholic Church, or who wishes to stand in solidarity with those harmed by its actions’.
The crowd will gather at The Garden of Remembrance from 3pm to 4pm and will walk in silence from Parnell Square to the last Magdalene Laundry to close in Ireland, on Sean McDermott Street. They will be able to leave messages of support there, the focus of which will be a commissioned art piece by Will St Leger.
Speaking ahead of the event, organiser Colm O’Gorman, said: ‘This week, Pope Francis has begged for forgiveness, but it isn’t at all clear what he wants forgiveness for. At no point has Pope Francis or any of his predecessors admitted or taken any responsibility for the deliberate policy of cover-up by the Vatican across the global church.
‘He seeks forgiveness for the pain of victims of abuse, for our pain, and names the need to root out abuse and cover-up, all of which is welcome.
‘But once again, he has failed to name who is responsible for the cover-up. He needs to take responsibility for it as Pope, and as head of state of the Vatican City State.’