Pope apologises for Church child abuse
THE Catholic Church’s failure to address sex abuse is a “source of pain and shame”, the Pope has told an audience in Ireland.
Beginning a two-day visit to the country, Pope Francis said he “cannot fail to acknowledge” the “grave scandal” that abuse by Catholic priests had caused, describing it as a “scourge in the Church”. He said the “failure” of religious leaders, including bishops, to address the “repellent crimes” had “rightly given rise to outrage”.
His comments came after Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s prime minister, called on him to implement a “zero tolerance” approach to abusers and those who participated in cover-ups.
Mr Varadkar said Irish scandals such as Magdalene Laundries, industrial schools, mother and baby homes, illegal adoptions, and clerical abuse were “stains on our state, our society, and also the Catholic Church”.
His words echoed the calls of victims’ and survivors’ groups, who criticised a pontifical letter issued on Monday for failing to include concrete provisions to bring abusers to justice.
The Pope also met with victims and survivors of abuse yesterday in a private event. As he left Dublin Castle, he was greeted by a group of advocates holding a banner calling for redress for victims. Other placards urged him not to forget abuse survivors.
Later in the evening, at a concert at Croke Park stadium in Dublin, he spoke of the negative effects of social media. While he said it “can be beneficial if used with moderation and prudence”, he warned against it becoming a “threat to the real web of flesh and blood relationships by imprisoning us in a virtual reality and isolating us from the very relationships that challenge us to grow to our full potential”.
The visit has drawn comparisons with Pope John Paul II’s trip to Ireland in 1979, where 2.7million people greeted him and more than a million attended a Mass in Dublin’s Phoenix Park. The figures for this year’s event are not yet known, but, early on, the pavement behind the barriers outside the castle was not full and many were there to protest. However, crowds later packed the streets, with supporters cheering and waving flags, as Francis processed in the “Popemobile”.
This afternoon, Pope Francis will conduct a papal Mass in the same location, with half a million people expected to attend.
Later yesterday afternoon, the Pope attended a meeting at St Mary’s Pro Cathedral, along with 370 recently married couples. He sat with head bowed for several minutes in front of a candle that has burned in the cathedral since 2011 as an acknowledgement of the suffering caused to survivors of abuse.
In his speeches, the Pope hinted at the recent referendum in which the Irish voted overwhelmingly to repeal the Eighth Amendment, paving the way for widely legalised abortion.
Speaking at Dublin Castle, he said: “The growth of a materialistic ‘throwaway culture’ has in fact made us increasingly indifferent to the poor and to the most vulnerable members of our human family, including the unborn, deprived of the very right to life.”