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Pope Francis will meet clerical sex abuse victims when he visits Ireland this weekend, the Vatican confirmed.<\/p>\nPope Francis will meet clerical sex abuse victims when he visits Ireland this weekend, the Vatican confirmed.<\/p>\n
He is due to arrive in Dublin on Saturday for two days of meetings with families and political authorities as well as a trip to a shrine revered by Catholics.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week the leader of the world’s Catholics condemned the “atrocities” of child sex abuse and clerical cover-ups in a strongly worded letter to members of the church.<\/p>\n
The Catholic Church has been rocked by revelations of wrongdoing by members of the religious orders stretching back decades.<\/p>\n
A spokeswoman for the Vatican, when asked about the Pope’s meeting with survivors, confirmed it would take place.<\/p>\n
Protesters have arranged a series of rallies coinciding with the pontiff’s trip to highlight what they believe has been the church’s failure to properly address wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
Last week a grand jury report outlined seven decades of abuse in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
The investigation found more than 1,000 children had been abused by 300 priests.<\/p>\n
The Pope has apologized after defending a bishop in Chile who was accused of hiding abuses by a priest.<\/p>\n
The latest Vatican intervention on the issue comes as Ireland gears up for its first papal visit in 40 years during which at least half a million people are expected to attend a papal mass in Dublin’s Phoenix Park.<\/p>\n
Several protests by groups campaigning for clerical abuse victims are set to take place during the visit.<\/p>\n