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The Pope has revealed his pain and shame at the Catholic church's failure to tackle sex abuse scandals.

On the first day of his historic trip to Ireland, the pontiff said people had a right to be outraged at the response of senior figures in the Catholic Church to the "repellent crimes" inflicted on young people.

Pope Francis addressed the issue during a speech at Dublin Castle in which he said that people had a right to be outraged at the response of senior figures in the Catholic Church to the “repellent crimes” inflicted on young people.

"With regard to the most vulnerable, 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," he 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."

In response, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar called on the Pope to listen to survivors of abuse at the hands of the church.

Following a private meeting with the Pontiff, Mr Varadkar said: "In place of Christian charity, forgiveness and compassion, far too often there was judgement, severity and cruelty, in particular towards women and children and those on the margins.

"Magdalene Laundries, Mother and Baby Homes, industrial schools, illegal adoptions and clerical child abuse are stains on our state, our society and also the Catholic Church.

"Wounds are still open and there is much to be done to bring about justice and truth and healing for victims and survivors.



Pope Francis landed at Dublin airport at around 10.30am, with his Alitalia plane displaying both the Irish and Vatican flags.

His Ireland trip marks the first visit to the country by a Pope in 40 years.

The Pontiff was welcomed by Foreign Affairs minister Simon Coveney, his wife Ruth and their three daughters.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to welcome Pope Francis during his tour of the capital city and County Mayo.

Earlier on Saturday he met with Irish president Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabrina.

An Irish Army band played the national anthems of Vatican City and Ireland during the arrival ceremony.

The president and the Pontiff took part in a tree planting ceremony.

A Syrian family who are asylum seekers, were invited to observe the tree planting ceremony.

In the afternoon, he went on a trip through Dublin on his Popemobile and is set to join 82,000 pilgrims at a music festival at Croke Park.

While Francis is sure to receive a warm reception from the thousands of pilgrims who have travelled to be part of the occasion, he will also be met by protesters angry at how the church dealt with multiple clerical sex abuse scandals that have damaged trust in the religious institution and seriously weakened its influence on Irish society.

At some point over the weekend, the Pope will meet a number of abuse victims in a private meeting amid expectation he will use his public utterances elsewhere to confront the emotive issue

While on Sunday he will pay a short visit to Knock Shrine before arriving back in Dublin and leading a mass at the World Meeting of Families in Phoenix Park.

Around 500,000 people are expected to attend.

The country has changed since Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1979.

Images from Dublin's city centre show LGBT protestors standing on Ha'Penny bridge with pride flags and rainbow umbrellas in remembrance of victims of the clerical sex abuse scandal.

The gathering happened just a couple of minutes walk from Dublin Castle where the Pope meets Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on Saturday afternoon.

During this weekend, the Pope will meet a number of abuse victims in a private meeting.