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Arrival of Pope Francis in Ireland brings 'mixed emotions' Irish PM calls for 'new relationship' between church and state during pope's visit
(about 2 hours later)
Pope Francis has arrived in Ireland for a brief visit that will be dominated by demands for action at the highest levels of the Roman Catholic church to deal with the systemic cover-up of abuse by priests and church institutions. The Irish prime minister has called for a new relationship between church and state in which religion is no longer at the centre of society, as the pope made his first visit to Ireland on Saturday.
In a blistering speech focusing on the failings of the church, delivered in the presence of Pope Francis, Leo Varadkar, the taoiseach, said a new relationship was needed that reflected the modern country Ireland had become and learned from “our shared mistakes”.
Also speaking at Dublin Castle on the first day of a two-day papal visit to Ireland, the pope added little to earlier acknowledgements of the abuse scandals that have engulfed the church.
“I cannot fail to acknowledge the grave scandal caused in Ireland by the abuse of young people by members of the church charged with responsibility for their protection and education,” Francis said.
“The failure of ecclesiastical authorities – bishops, religious superiors, priests and others – adequately to address these repellent crimes has rightly given rise to outrage and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community. I myself share those sentiments.”
Varadkar’s speech, delivered first, highlighted the “dark aspects” of the Catholic church’s history. “The failures of both church and state, and wider society, created a bitter and broken heritage for so many, leaving a legacy of pain and suffering. It is a history of sorrow and shame,” he said.
Child sexual abuse, the Magdalene Laundries, mother and baby homes, and illegal adoptions were “stains on our state, our society and also the Catholic church. People kept in dark corners behind closed doors, cries for help that went unheard.”
The taoiseach also referred to the recent grand jury report on clerical abuse in Pennsylvania, saying “brutal crimes [were] perpetrated by people within the Catholic church, and then obscured to protect the institution at the expense of innocent victims. It is a story all too tragically familiar here in Ireland.”
He added: “Wounds are still open and there is much to be done to bring about justice and truth and healing for victims and survivors.”
Varadkar called on the pope to listen to victims, insisting: “We must now ensure that from words flow actions.”
The Ireland of the 21st century was “a very different place today than it was in the past,” Varadkar said. The country was more diverse, less religious and had modernised its laws, “understanding that marriages do not always work, that women should make their own decisions, and that families come in many different, wonderful forms, including those headed by a grandparent, lone parent or same-sex parents, or parents who are divorced.”
The changes meant the time had come “for us to build a new, more mature relationship between church and state in Ireland – a new covenant for the 21st century”.
It would be one “in which religion is no longer at the centre of our society, but in which it still has an important place”.
Pope Francis’s brief visit to Ireland will be dominated by demands for action at the highest levels of the Roman Catholic church to deal with the systemic cover-up of abuse by priests and church institutions.
An Alitalia flight carrying the pope, his entourage and the Vatican media corps touched down at Dublin airport just before 10.30am on Saturday for only the second papal visit to Ireland.An Alitalia flight carrying the pope, his entourage and the Vatican media corps touched down at Dublin airport just before 10.30am on Saturday for only the second papal visit to Ireland.
At a low-key ceremony on the tarmac, he was greeted by politicians, bishops and dignitaries, and presented with flowers by the five-year-old daughter of Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney. A Skoda bearing a papal flag stood by to take Francis to his first engagement, meeting the Irish president, Michael Higgins, at his official residence.At a low-key ceremony on the tarmac, he was greeted by politicians, bishops and dignitaries, and presented with flowers by the five-year-old daughter of Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney. A Skoda bearing a papal flag stood by to take Francis to his first engagement, meeting the Irish president, Michael Higgins, at his official residence.
In the next two days, Francis will have a rapturous welcome from thousands of pilgrims who have travelled to Ireland for the Catholic church’s World Meeting of Families. But there will also be protests over the church’s handling of multiple clerical sexual abuse scandals that have catastrophically damaged its moral authority and standing in Irish society.In the next two days, Francis will have a rapturous welcome from thousands of pilgrims who have travelled to Ireland for the Catholic church’s World Meeting of Families. But there will also be protests over the church’s handling of multiple clerical sexual abuse scandals that have catastrophically damaged its moral authority and standing in Irish society.
The first protest took place on the Ha’penny Bridge over the River Liffey in central Dublin as the pope touched down. Blue ribbons were tied to railings in support of abuse survivors, rainbow flags waved in solidarity with LGBT people and purple umbrellas held in support of the ordination of female priests.
Simon Harris, the health mininster, said it would be a weekend of mixed emotions. He tweeted ahead of the pope’s arrival:Simon Harris, the health mininster, said it would be a weekend of mixed emotions. He tweeted ahead of the pope’s arrival:
Weekend of mixed emotions -for many; excitement, for others; feelings of hurt. Whatever your perspective, let’s hope for a weekend where reconciliation & healing can commence, journey for justice is furthered & a country which respects religious freedom & choice #PopeinIrelandWeekend of mixed emotions -for many; excitement, for others; feelings of hurt. Whatever your perspective, let’s hope for a weekend where reconciliation & healing can commence, journey for justice is furthered & a country which respects religious freedom & choice #PopeinIreland
The city was quiet on Saturday morning, although thousands of people were expected to line the route Francis will take in his popemobile later in the day. As well as meeting the president, he will make a speech at Dublin Castle, visit St Mary’s Pro-cathedral where he will meet 370 recently married couples, and appear at a festival of the family on Saturday evening.
Leo Varadkar, the Irish taoiseach, has said he will not skirt over issues concerning abuse and human rights when he meets the pope. He did not want to “just do them in a token way”, he said, but to ensure “there is truth and justice and healing for victims”.
As well as child sexual abuse, Varadkar may raise the mistreatment of vulnerable women in the Magdalene Laundries, the forced or coerced adoption of babies born to unmarried women, and the church’s attitude to LGBT people and the role of women.
More than 600,000 free tickets have been allocated for the weekend’s main events. But overall numbers will be significantly lower than the 2.7 million people – half the population of the island of Ireland – who turned out to see Pope John Paul II in 1979.
The itinerary for Francis’s short trip is filled with events typical of a papal visit: meetings with politicians, dignitaries and church leaders, homilies and speeches, popemobile tours, and masses. He will address the World Meeting of Families, a triennial gathering of Catholics from more than 100 counties, and visit the huge Marian shrine in Knock.The itinerary for Francis’s short trip is filled with events typical of a papal visit: meetings with politicians, dignitaries and church leaders, homilies and speeches, popemobile tours, and masses. He will address the World Meeting of Families, a triennial gathering of Catholics from more than 100 counties, and visit the huge Marian shrine in Knock.
At Phoenix Park, Francis will celebrate mass with half a million people on Sunday. At the same time, survivors of sexual abuse and their supporters will hold a vigil at Dublin’s Garden of Remembrance. Another vigil will be held at the site of a mass grave containing the remains of infants which was discovered last year at a Catholic mother-and-baby home in Tuam where almost 800 children died.At Phoenix Park, Francis will celebrate mass with half a million people on Sunday. At the same time, survivors of sexual abuse and their supporters will hold a vigil at Dublin’s Garden of Remembrance. Another vigil will be held at the site of a mass grave containing the remains of infants which was discovered last year at a Catholic mother-and-baby home in Tuam where almost 800 children died.
The Vatican has confirmed that Francis will meet privately with survivors of clerical sexual abuse, although no details of the meeting will be disclosed in advance. It would be up to those invited if they wanted to make public statements afterwards, said Greg Burke, the Vatican spokesperson. The Vatican has confirmed that Francis will meet privately with survivors of clerical sexual abuse, although no details of the meeting will be disclosed in advance.
The pope will not be travelling to Northern Ireland, though thousands of Catholics are expected to make the journey south. Arlene Foster, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party and the first minister of the Northern Ireland Assembly before its collapse, declined an invitation to meet Francis, citing a family holiday. Thirty years ago, the Rev Ian Paisley, the DUP’s founder, declared Pope John Paul II the anti-Christ.
Ireland has undergone profound social changes since the last papal visit to Ireland. In 1979, contraception, homosexuality, divorce and abortion were illegal, and more than nine in 10 people attended mass each week. Now those pillars of Catholic teaching have been overturned with the help of successive popular votes, and mass attendance is well below 10% in some Dublin parishes.
Francis’s historic trip will be under the dark shadow of sexual abuse by Irish priests and cover-up by senior church figures, revealed in the past two decades, which Ireland is still struggling to come to terms with. The visit will also put him in a global spotlight, as the Vatican is reeling from scandals this year in the US, Australia and Chile.
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