Pope Francis says, Ashamed by Church's abuse failures

Pope Francis (left) with Irish PM Leo Varadkar in Dublin Castle. Pic/AFP

Pope Francis said at the start of a visit to Ireland yesterday 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. 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.

'3,000 Catholics quit church over abortion'
Buenos Aires: Thousands of Argentine Catholics have renounced their membership in the church to protest its opposition to a bill that would have legalised abortion in Pope Francis's homeland, a group said. A list of signatures from Catholics angered at the church's role was presented to the Argentine Episcopal Conference at its headquarters in Buenos Aires yesterday. The country's Senate voted down a bill to decriminalise abortion on August 9, two months after it had been narrowly approved by the Chamber of Deputies.

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