Pope’s letter on Irish child abuse for release on Saturday

(March 19, 2010) Pope Benedict XVI’s letter to the Catholics of Ireland on the clerical sex abuse crisis will be released on Saturday in the Vatican. During his general audience on Wednesday the Pope had announced that he would formally sign the letter on Thursday, the feast of St. Joseph, adding that it would be released “soon after”. The Pope said the letter was a sign of his deep concern over the painful situation of child abuse crisis. He hopes the letter will help the Irish faithful heal following years of abuse and cover-ups on the part of church leaders. Three Irish government-ordered investigations have documented a shocking catalogue of child abuse and church cover-ups from the 1930s to 1990s involving more than 15,000 children. The report said bishops sometimes protected abusive priests, and were apparently more intent on protecting the church's reputation and assets than on helping the victims. In December, the pope had said he would write the letter in the wake of the scandal that followed the publication of the report.