Pope will pursue justice for the victims of abuse

IRELAND: Francis addresses abuse during Papal Mass in Dublin

The Pope vowed to pursue justice for victims of church abuse in Ireland as he ended his historic visit to the country by seeking forgiveness for its dark litany of clerical crimes.

Addressing a large crowd of pilgrims at an open air Mass in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, Francis laid bare the many forms of abuse and mistreatment meted out to children and vulnerable adults in past decades.

Seeking forgiveness for each scandal in turn, the pontiff also acknowledged members of the church’s hierarchy had also sought to cover up the sins of colleagues and failed to show compassion for the victims.

“We ask forgiveness for the abuses in Ireland, abuses of power, of conscience, and sexual abuses perpetrated by members with roles of responsibility in the church,” he said.

The legacy of church abuse cast a long shadow over the first papal visit to Ireland since 1979, as the pontiff repeatedly moved to address the scandals.

His words drew praise in some quarters but others accused the Pope of not going far enough.

A total of 500,000 tickets were snapped up for the Phoenix Park Mass but the actual crowd appeared significantly smaller.

As the Pope’s plea for forgiveness rang out around the park yesterday afternoon, elsewhere in Dublin abuse survivors and campaigners protested at his visit.

A vigil was also held at the site of the mother and baby home in Tuam, Co Galway, where a mass grave containing around 800 babies not afforded proper burials was recently uncovered.

Praying for the strength to achieve truth and justice for the victims, the Pope referred to his private meeting with eight abuse survivors on Saturday evening, explaining that he wanted to take up what they had said to him.

“In a special way, we ask pardon for all the abuses committed in various types of institutions run by males or female religious and by other members of the church, and we ask for forgiveness for those cases of manual work that so many young women and men were subjected to,” he said.

“We ask forgiveness.”

Before departing Dublin for his flight home yesterday evening, the Pope held a short meeting with a number of Irish bishops.

He told them the scandals had also caused “hurt and discouragement” to current members of the priesthood, something he said was often “ignored or underestimated”.

Picture: Maxwell Photography. Pope Francis bids farewell to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin at Dublin International Airport as the pontiff prepares to leave after his visit to Ireland.

Picture: Getty. The Pope has called for action to achieve justice.