Pope begs forgiveness for clerical sex abuse
Pope Francis has begged forgiveness for clerical child sex abuse and reiterated his wish to see justice served.
The pontiff made the comments during the second day of his historic trip to the Republic of Ireland at the Marian shrine in Knock, County Mayo.
He said no-one could fail to be moved by stories of those who "suffered abuse, were robbed of their innocence and left scarred by painful memories".
It is the first papal visit to Ireland in 39 years.
In the afternoon, 500,000 people were expected to gather in Phoenix Park in Dublin for the closing Papal Mass of the World Meeting of Families. This year's visit coincides with the World Meeting of Families, a global Catholic gathering which is held every three years.
The Marian shrine of Knock is a well-known place of Catholic pilgrimage in the west of Ireland.
About 1.5 million pilgrims from across the world visit it every year, where an apparition of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, is said to have appeared in August 1879.
Pope Francis arrived by plane at Knock at about 09:45am local time and greeted the crowds from his popemobile before going into the chapel to pray privately.
Knock was also visited by Pope John Paul II during his visit to Ireland in 1979.
During the first day of the trip, Pope Francis said he was ashamed of the Catholic Church's failure to adequately address the "repellent crimes" of sex abuse by clergy.
He made the comments during a speech at Dublin Castle.
Later in the afternoon he met eight survivors of sexual abuse, reportedly telling them he viewed clerical sex abuse as "filth".
It came after Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Leo Varadkar delivered a strong warning to the Pope to take action against clergy involved in child abuse and in keeping it secret.
Pope Francis told the crowds at Knock that in his prayer to Mary, the mother of Jesus, he had "presented to her in particular all the victims of abuse of whatever kind committed by members of the Church in Ireland".
Meanwhile, a former top Vatican official has called on the Pope to re-
sign, saying the pontiff knew about allegations of sex abuse by a prominent US cardinal for five years before accepting his resignation last month.
In an 11-page letter, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano said he had told Pope Francis in 2013 that Cardinal Theodore McCarrick had faced extensive accusations of sexually abusing lower-ranking seminarians and priests.
Vatican officials declined immediate comment on the letter on Sunday.
The Vatican has not responded to these claims - and Archbishop Vigano has not produced any written or other evidence to verify his conversation with Pope Francis.
Correspondents say the timing of his letter, released to coincide with the Pope's landmark visit to Ireland, has raised questions about whether this is a co-ordinated attack from traditionalists within the Catholic hierarchy who oppose Pope Francis.