As pope arrives in Ireland, can he fix a Catholic Church mired in abuse scandals?
The Catholic Church is under fire across the globe for its systemic failures to protect children or to punish bishops who hid the crimes
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 fuelling 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.
Advocates for Irish abuse survivors rejected the remarks as an act of deflection.