Pope’s shame over sex abuse scandal
Thousands line streets for Dublin visit
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.
Thousands lined the streets of Dublin yesterday as the Pontiff stood in his glass sided “Popemobile” as it slowly made its way through the city. On the first day of his historic Irish visit, the Pope Francis 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 castle’s St Patrick’s 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, superiors, priests and others – adequately to address these crimes has rightly given rise to outrage and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community. I myself share those sentiments.” In Scotland, abuse of youngsters at children’s homes run by the Catholic Church is one of the issues being investigated by the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry. Last week it emerged that 12 people, some of them nuns, have been arrested over claims of abuse at the former Smyllum Park children’s home in Lanarkshire. The Pope said the Church in Ireland had played a role in child welfare which could not be obscured. “It is my hope that the gravity of the abuse scandals, which have cast light on the failings of many, will serve to emphasise the importance of the protection of minors and vulnerable adults on the part of society as a whole,” he said. “In this regard, all of us are aware of how urgent it is to provide our young people with wise guidance and sound values on their journey to maturity.” The speech came after a meeting with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and later the Irish premier urged the Pope to “listen to the victims” in his own address at Dublin Castle. Mr Varadkar said there had to be zero tolerance for those who abuse and anyone who facilitated them.