Pope Francis In Ireland: Clerical Child Sex Abuse Addressed As Protests Planned

Pope Francis addressed the clerical child sex abuse during his historic visit to Ireland on Saturday. His comments came as he visited the Marian shrine in Knock, County Mayo.

The pontiff begged forgiveness for the "appalling" historic child abuse in the church after Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar called for "zero tolerance" against predator priests and to ensure "that from words flow actions."

“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," he said in a speech to government officials at Dublin Castle. "I myself share these sentiments."

Pope Francis earlier also condemned the lack of response by Catholic officials to punish priests who have raped and molested children.

“The church in Ireland, past and present, has played a role in the welfare of children that cannot be obscured,” Pope Francis continued. “It is my hope that the gravity of the abuse scandals, which have cast light on the failings of so many, will serve to emphasize the importance of the protection of minors and vulnerable adults on the part of society as a whole.”

Thousands of people are expected to take to the streets in protest as the Pope will celebrate Mass with half a million faithful in Dublin on Sunday afternoon. More than 10,000 people have joined the Facebook event "Say Nope to the Pope," a campaign calling on protesters to not show up at the Mass.

Last week, the Vatican described the sexual abuse detailed in the Pennsylvania grand jury report as “criminally and morally reprehensible.” The Vatican expressed “shame and sorrow” and said the pope wants to completely eliminate “this tragic horror.”

Recently, a former top Vatican official called on the Pope to resign, saying he knew about allegations of sex abuse by a prominent United States cardinal for five years before accepting his resignation last month.

The Pennsylvania grand jury report details about at least 1,000 children sexually abused by more than 300 Catholic priests over the last 70 years. The report also gave details about how church leaders went to extraordinary lengths to conceal and protect the perpetrators.

“The Holy See condemns unequivocally the sexual abuse of minors. There are two words that can express the feelings faced with these horrible crimes: shame and sorrow,” Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said.

"Those acts were betrayals of trust that robbed survivors of their dignity and their faith. The Church must learn hard lessons from its past, and there should be accountability for both abusers and those who permitted abuse to occur,” he added, the Guardian reported.