Pope to address Irish abuse scandals with 'decisive' letter

A senior Vatican official has said Pope Benedict XVI will speak with a "clear and decisive voice" when he addresses clerical sex abuses in Ireland in a forthcoming letter.

Pope Benedict is expected to release his letter soon in response to revelations of decades of systematic abuse in church-run schools and other institutions.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella has told an Italian newspaper that the zero-tolerance policy that the Pontiff wants to implement is a "moral obligation."

Archbishop Fisichella was quoted as saying that measures introduced in the US church, similarly hit by an abuse scandal years ago, are making a difference.