Pope begs for God's forgiveness for church sex abuse scandal

Pope Francis has begged forgiveness for clerical child sex abuse and reiterated his wish to see justice served during his visit to the Marian Shrine at Knock on the second day of his visit to the Republic of Ireland.

The Marian shrine of Knock is a place of Catholic pilgrimage in the west of Ireland, where an apparition of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, is said to have appeared in August 1879.

He said no-one could fail to be moved by stories of those who “suffered abuse, were robbed of their innocence and left scarred by painful memories”.

During the first day of the trip, Pope Francis used a speech at Dublin Castle to express his shame at the Catholic Church’s failure to adequately address the “repellent crimes” of sex abuse by clergy.

He later he met eight survivors of sexual abuse, reportedly telling them he viewed clerical sex abuse as “filth”.

Later on Sunday, 500,000 people are expected to gather in the Phoenix Park in Dublin as the Pope celebrates Mass to close the World Meeting of Families.

SOURCEBBC