Pope Benedict XVI shares "the outrage, betrayal and shame" felt by Irish Catholics over cases of clerical sexual abuse and the way abuse claims were handled by church leaders, and he plans to write a special pastoral letter to the Catholics of Ireland, the Vatican said.

The letter "will clearly indicate the initiatives that are to be taken in response to the situation," said a statement issued by the Vatican Dec. 11. The statement was released after the pope and top Vatican officials spent 90 minutes meeting with Cardinal Sean Brady of Armagh, Northern Ireland, president of the Irish bishops' conference, and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin.

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Filed under: * International News & Commentary • England / UK • --Ireland • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Roman Catholic

1. Br_er Rabbit wrote: The report that was released has been in compilation for quite a while. The Roman church has been in possession of the facts for a longer time than the report has been in compiliation. I simply do not understand why the Vatican chose to delay any action until the public release of the report. The Vatican’s press release now should be saying, “Here’s what we found in our own investigation, and here’s what we have been doing about it these several years, and we think that what we’re doing is working.” Along with another belated apology, of course. December 13, 7:30 pm | [comment link]

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