Leo Varadkar plans to speak to Pope Francis about clerical child abuse.
The Taoiseach said that he will welcome the Pope to Ireland this week but that he also wants to address the church’s dealings with child abuse cases.
Pope Francis will be in Dublin and Knock this weekend as part of the World Meeting of Families. He will be saying mass to a crowd of 500,000 this Sunday in Phoenix Park.
Varadkar told RTE that he will be discussing a number of issues with the Pontiff during their 10 minute meeting.
He said that many people in Ireland feel excluded from the Catholic church due to the church’s treatment of women in the magdalene laundries, child abuse cover ups, and the church’s history with the LGBT community.
This comes after Pope Francis wrote a letter to all members of the Catholic church concerning clerical abuse and past attempts at cover ups.
He condemned the abuse and asked God for forgiveness, saying:
“We have realised that these wounds never disappear and that they require us forcefully to condemn these atrocities and join forces in uprooting this culture of death.”
Varadkar will be meeting the Pope in Dublin Castle on Saturday.
