Pope ‘visibly upset’ over abuse stories

THE Pope was “visibly upset” by the stories of clerical child abuse, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said yesterday, with an announcement from the Vatican on the Ryan Report now likely.

The archbishop was joined by Cardinal Sean Brady, Primate of All Ireland, at a meeting of the heads of the country’s 26 dioceses in Maynooth yesterday after having met Pope Benedict XVI in Rome last week. The pontiff’s sadness at the contents of the Ryan Report, details of which were conveyed to him by Archbishop Martin and Cardinal Brady, was passed on to the other bishops.

In a brief statement Cardinal Brady outlined how he and Archbishop Martin had met with seven cardinals to discuss the Ryan Report while in Rome. They then met the Pope for 45 minutes last Friday and told him of the contents of the report.