Amid fallout from Pennsylvania report, Pope Francis to meet with abuse victims in Ireland

Caroline Simon | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Victims, Catholics react to pope abuse statement Currently practicing Catholics, and those who were sexually abused by clergy as youths, are responding to the Pope's condemnation of child sex abuse and its cover up within the Catholic church. (Aug. 20)

Pope Francis is expected to meet with victims of sexual abuse during an upcoming weekend trip to Ireland, less than two weeks after a bombshell grand jury report found Catholic priests in Pennsylvania abused more than 1,000 children over six decades.

Greg Burke, a Vatican spokesman, said in a Tuesday briefing that the Pope always meets with victims when visiting countries where abuse "is a reality," and that information may be released after the meeting, depending on what survivors decide.

"The important thing is for the Pope to listen," Burke said.

Ireland has a devastating history of priests who raped and molested children and bishops who covered up for them. The issue of sexual abuse by clergy is likely to dominate the trip, especially given the outcry that followed the recent revelations in Pennsylvania.

The Aug. 14 grand jury report, which outlined abuses by more than 300 "predator priests" across six dioceses in Pennsylvania, was the latest development in a scandal that has dogged the Catholic Church for decades. Last month, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, a prominent Vatican official, amid claims of sexual abuse almost 40 years ago.

The pope is under extreme pressure to speak out against abuse, and has previously met with victims in Philadelphia, Chile and at the Vatican.

Though it took the Vatican two days to respond to the report, Burke said in a statement on Aug. 16 that “those acts were betrayals of trust that robbed survivors of their dignity and faith." Pope Francis on Monday condemned the "atrocities" of sexual abuse by priests, and demanded accountability in the future.

"I acknowledge once more the suffering endured by many minors due to sexual abuse, the abuse of power and the abuse of conscience perpetrated by a significant number of clerics and consecrated persons," Francis said. "We showed no care for the little ones. ... We abandoned them."

The original purpose of Francis' Ireland trip was to conclude the World Meeting of Families, a major Catholic gathering. Asked if the Pope would address abuse, Burke said Francis has "several opportunities" to do so during six major speeches in the country.

Francis will also pray for abuse victims before a candle in Dublin's St. Mary's Cathedral on Saturday.

More: Pope Francis blasts 'atrocities' by clergy: 'We showed no care for the little ones'

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Contributing: Associated Press