Francis was making his first comments about the criticism levelled at the Vatican's handling of sex abuse cases by Marie Collins, an Irish abuse survivor who resigned from Francis' sex abuse advisory commission in March.

The Vatican’s child protection commission, from which an Irish abuse survivor resigned in protest in recent weeks, has told the Pope that the Church needs to start responding “directly and compassionately” to the victims of clerical abuse.

Irish abuse survivor Marie Collins has challenged a claim by a senior Vatican figure that his office cooperated with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

FOR generations we have known the Great Famine as the Irish Holocaust. 

Even in a country that can’t agree on how water services might be funded, even in a country where a modest redrawing of county boundaries looks as if it might send black-and-amber refuseniks to the thatch to root out what must now be a very rusty pike, it should be possible to agree on one of today’s constant, undeniable forces.

Clerical abuse survivor and campaigner, Marie Collins, said she resigned from the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors because a group of people in the Vatican had been obstructing its work, including not following recommendations from the Pope.

Clerical sex abuse survivor and papal representative Marie Collins said she was glad there would be an inquiry over the failure by the gardaí to act on information it had in 1973, about paedophile priest Brendan Smyth.

Pope Francis has ordered Catholic bishops to co-operate as a matter of priority with a commission he set up to protect children from sexual abuse by clerics, even if it unearths new scandals.

I write in response to an article in Saturday’s newspaper where abuse survivor, Marie Collins stated the cardinal should have resigned long ago.

The Irish representative on the Vatican’s new child protection council said "it would have been better" for the survivors of abuse by Brendan Smyth if Cardinal Sean Brady had resigned two years ago.

Change has come at last. Anybody reading Pope Francis’s homily at a Mass for clergy sex abuse victims in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae cannot but feel the sorrow in his words and his determination to change the culture within the Church that failed to protect children.

One of the two Irish victims of clerical sex abuse who had a private audience with the Pope told him that senior cardinals involved in covering up child abuse should be removed from their positions.

Pope Francis has begged forgiveness from the victims of clergy sex abuse in his first meeting with abuse survivors.

Pope Francis is expected to meet six survivors of clerical sex abuse today, including two from Ireland.

Pope Francis is to meet with Irish survivors of clerical abuse in the Vatican next week — their first such meeting with a pope.

Vatican commission member Marie Collins has said it's 'morally wrong' for child abusers to be protected through the seal of confession.

Pope Francis has said he takes personal responsibility for the “evil” of priests who raped and molested children, asking forgiveness from victims and saying the Church must be even bolder in its efforts to protect the young.

Pope Francis has appointed Irish abuse victim Marie Collins to the Vatican commission on protecting children from abuse.

Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald was among the politicians who paid tribute to Christine Buckley, who she described as a “courageous and consistent campaigner” for the rights of the child.

Priests who abused children should be forgiven for past “mistakes” and allowed return to ministries where they have authority over minors, a Catholic Church group has claimed.

The majority of historic child abuse complaints a leading charity forwards to the HSE are not investigated — despite the fact the attackers may still be a danger to the public.

This week's highlights include Cracking Crime, which revisits the murder of a prison officer from Kerry.

As a fellow participant in the RTÉ Late Debate programme last Thursday.

The Association of Catholic Priests has called for changes to be made to the guidelines on standing aside priests accused of abuse from ministry.

Columnist Mary Kenny’s call for an inquiry that categorises the abuse by paedophile priest Brendan Smyth will devastate victims and stop them getting help, child abuse survivor Marie Collins said.

I’VE been asked a lot during the last week whether I think Cardinal Brady should resign.

The Association of Catholic Priests says it has real concerns about the future of the Catholic Church.

Abuse survivor Marie Collins is to speak at a Vatican summit in Rome today attended by a number of senior Cardinals and Bishops.

Victims of Father Ronat, the Cloyne priest who is to go before a canonical tribunal that can recommend he be defrocked, have reminded him they have letters of apology from the diocese for the abuse they suffered.

Catholic leaders from around the world are in Rome for a Vatican summit to find ways to root out paedophilia in the clergy.

THE Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF) has launched a strong attack on the Government over its failure to deal with the crisis threatening Irish pension funds.

IRISH survivors of clerical sex abuse have been invited to travel to the Vatican on October 31 to demand change from the Roman Catholic Church.

A LEADING Vatican correspondent has suggested the two Irish bishops, whose resignations were not accepted by the Pope this week, wrote to the pontiff highlighting they had no responsibility in the handling of abuse cases.

Clerical child abuse survivors Marie Collins and Andrew Madden are to receive public awards later today.

ABUSE survivor John Kelly is angry that no government department official responsible for the welfare of children in residential institutions had been named, shamed or made accountable since the Ryan report was published.

ARCHBISHOP of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has broken his week-long silence following the controversial speech where he spoke of “strong forces” operating within the Church to state that “he stands by the affirmations in his original speech”.

Abuse survivors claimed today that Cardinal Sean Brady’s vow to remain in office was a mistake and sent out a signal that the Church has not changed.

The Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF) was warned at its conference in Dublin that people are not paying enough attention to their pensions.

THE Catholic Church’sNational Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC) has said it has “no evidence” to suggest that child protection guidelines are not being adhered to in all dioceses across the country.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin was praised today after claiming strong forces in the Catholic Church would prefer scandals about paedophile priests are kept secret.

All bishops who failed to challenge the culture of cover-up over child abuse should resign if the Church has any hope of moving forward, an abuse survivor said tonight.

SURVIVORS of clerical abuse say the Primate of All-Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh, Cardinal Seán Brady, told them he would comply with a statutory tribunal into the Church’s handling of clerical sex abuse complaints, if such a body was to be established.

DISILLUSIONED clerical abuse victims say they are expecting little from the Pope’s pastoral letter to the Irish people, due to be released today.