Adding to his prepared remarks, Francis said he was committed to ridding the church of this “scourge” no matter the moral cost or amount of suffering.
DUBLIN (AP) — Pope Francis said at the start of a visit to Ireland on Saturday that he shares the outrage of rank-and-file Catholics over the failure of church authorities to punish the “repugnant crimes” of priests who raped and molested children.
Seeking to respond to a global outcry over the abuse scandal, Francis cited measures taken by his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, to respond to the crisis. But Benedict never acknowledged the Vatican’s role in fueling a culture of cover-up, and Francis provided no new details of any measures he would take to sanction bishops who fail to protect their flocks.
“The failure of ecclesial authorities — bishops, religious superiors, priests and others — to adequately address these repugnant crimes has rightly given rise to outrage, and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community. I myself share these sentiments,” the pope said in a speech to government and civil authorities at Dublin Castle.
Adding to his prepared remarks, Francis said he was committed to ridding the church of this “scourge” no matter the moral cost or amount of suffering.
Francis trip has been overshadowed by renewed outrage over the Catholic Church’s systemic failures to protect children following revelations of sexual misconduct and cover-up in the U. S. church hierarchy, a growing crisis in Chile and prosecutions of top clerics in Australia and France.
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Ireland prepares for Pope Francis
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Ireland prepares for Pope Francis
Redemptoristine nuns Sister Petra Maria (R) and Sister Ivana prepare communion wafers during production of altar breads ahead of Pope Francis’ visit to Ireland, at the Monastery of St Alphonsus in Dublin, Ireland August 22,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Redemptoristine nun Sister Petra Maria prepares uncut sheets of communion wafers during production of altar breads ahead of Pope Francis’ visit to Ireland, at the Monastery of St Alphonsus in Dublin, Ireland August 22,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Sister Angela Finegan looks out of the church window at St Mary’s Abbey, a Cistercian monastery that is an enclosed contemplative order of nuns in Glencairn, Ireland, August 18,2018. “I am so excited about the day, to be in the presence of this good and holy leader of our Church (Pope Francis) and surrounded by people of faith and lovers of God. It will be a great joy and blessing. Especially in the days when the presence of God and the life of the Church are hidden in our fast-paced society,” said Sister Angela. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Redemptoristine nuns Sister Petra Maria (R) and Sister Ivana prepare communion wafers during production of altar breads ahead of Pope Francis’ visit to Ireland, at the Monastery of St Alphonsus in Dublin, Ireland August 22,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Pilgrims ascend and descend Croagh Patrick holy mountain during an annual Catholic pilgrimage near Lecanvey, Ireland, July 29,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Names spelled out in stones are laid out on the side of Croagh Patrick holy mountain during an annual Catholic pilgrimage near Lecanvey, Ireland, July 29,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Sister Angela Finegan mops the church floor at St Mary’s Abbey, a Cistercian monastery that is an enclosed contemplative order of nuns in Glencairn, Ireland, August 18,2018. “I am so excited about the day, to be in the presence of this good and holy leader of our Church (Pope Francis) and surrounded by people of faith and lovers of God. It will be a great joy and blessing. Especially in the days when the presence of God and the life of the Church are hidden in our fast-paced society,” said Sister Angela. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Sister Marie Fahy reads at her desk in St Mary’s Abbey, a Cistercian monastery that is an enclosed contemplative order of nuns in Glencairn, Ireland, August 18,2018. “The Pope is the earthly head of the Church, the Vicar of Christ. His visit means that he wants to support, guide and encourage the Irish Church. I believe his message will be one of inspiration, direction and advice for the people of God in Ireland,” said Sister Marie. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Sister Marie Fahy walks through the farm in St Mary’s Abbey, a Cistercian monastery that is an enclosed contemplative order of nuns in Glencairn, Ireland, August 18,2018. “The Pope is the earthly head of the Church, the Vicar of Christ. His visit means that he wants to support, guide and encourage the Irish Church. I believe his message will be one of inspiration, direction and advice for the people of God in Ireland,” said Sister Marie. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A religious grotto that lights up at night and is also a traffic roundabout, stands in the city centre in Dublin, Ireland, August 14,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Brendan O’Connor who lives beside Phoenix Park, sits in his yard in Dublin, Ireland, July 18,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Sister Kathleen carries a pot of tea at St Mary’s Abbey, a Cistercian monastery that is an enclosed contemplative order of nuns in Glencairn, Ireland, August 18,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Shopkeeper Bernie Byrne, 74, looks out from his shop at the National Marian Shrine town of Knock, Ireland, July 23,2018. Byrne’s grandfather Dominic was one of at least twenty-two people that claimed to see Mary, Joseph and John the Evangelist hovering near the gable end of the local church in the western Irish village of Knock on a rainy evening in August 1879. “Houses are being painted and streets are being scrubbed… trying to get everything ready for him (Pope Francis), even though it’s only a short visit,” said Byrne, who like his brother Tom, runs a small shop selling religious goods to the 1.5 million pilgrims that come to Knock each year. “Because he is such a humble man, and a nice man, everybody is dying to have a look at him.” REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A souvenir lollipop called a ‘Lollipope’ is seen in Dublin, Ireland, August 15,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A statue of the Virgin Mary stands in O’Devaney Gardens beside Phoenix Park in Dublin, Ireland, July 18,2018. The 1950’s complex’s statue of Mary is tended to by Joe Towell who lives nearby to O’Devaney Gardens flats. While some locals’ cars have been stolen and homes broken into, nobody touches Mary, he says. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Pope Francis bunting decorates a street in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland, August 13,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A statue of Pope Francis stands in a shop window in the National Marian Shrine town of Knock, Ireland, July 23,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Women from a haberdashery shop hold up their new Pope Francis Ireland flag in Louth, Ireland, June 28,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A statue of the Virgin Mary looks out from a shop at the National Marian Shrine town of Knock, Ireland, July 23,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Joe Towell, 68, sits with his mother who lives with him at his home in Dublin, Ireland, July 18,2018. Excited about the visit of “another extraordinary type of pope”, he sees Francis as bridging a generational gap that has opened between the conservative and liberal wings of the church. “He’s still preaching the same gospel as they’ve all been preaching. He’s just got a little more understanding of the present way people are feeling,” Towell said. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Heart-shaped gravestones of boys who died in a Christian Brothers’ industrial school lie in a graveyard in Letterfrack, Ireland, July 24,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A religious grotto featuring a statue of the Virgin Mary holding a Pope Francis prayer card and several sets of rosary beads stands on the roadside near the county Mayo town of Claremorris, Ireland, July 23,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
The stage where Pope Frances will lead Mass for over half a million people is under construction at the Phoenix Park in Dublin, Ireland, August 13,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Pilgrims attend Mass at the summit of Croagh Patrick holy mountain during an annual Catholic pilgrimage near Lecanvey, Ireland, July 29,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A station of the cross is partly hidden by undergrowth at a roadside in the Connemara village of Letterfrack, Ireland, July 24,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A nun stands in front of a scene of the crucifix of Jesus in the Marian Shrine town of Knock, Ireland, July 23,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A child cycles past a roadside sign reading ‘Jesus I trust in you’ near Tuam, Ireland, July 23,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Pilgrims attend Mass at the summit of Croagh Patrick holy mountain during an annual Catholic pilgrimage near Lecanvey, Ireland, July 29,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Pilgrims ascend and descend Croagh Patrick holy mountain during an annual Catholic pilgrimage near Lecanvey, Ireland, July 29,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A young pilgrim reads on Croagh Patrick holy mountain during an annual Catholic pilgrimage near Lecanvey, Ireland, July 29,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Pilgrims attend Mass at the summit of Croagh Patrick holy mountain during an annual Catholic pilgrimage near Lecanvey, Ireland, July 29,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A pilgrim descends Croagh Patrick holy mountain barefoot during an annual Catholic pilgrimage near Lecanvey, Ireland, July 29,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Pilgrims ascend and descend Croagh Patrick holy mountain during an annual Catholic pilgrimage near Lecanvey, Ireland, July 29,2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A pilgrim is blessed by the newly ordained Father Gerard Quirke after Mass at the summit of Croagh Patrick holy mountain during an annual Catholic pilgrimage near Lecanvey, Ireland, July 29,2018.
