nuncio relays pope's dismay over child abuse

[caption id="attachment_69948" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Papal Nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown presents his diplomatic credentials to President Michael D. Higgins as foreign affairs minister Eamon Gilmore looks on. "]

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The new papal nuncio to Ireland has revealed the pope's "dismay" over the clerical abuse scandal that has rocked the country's Catholic faithful to the core.

Archbishop Charles John Brown, who is American by birth, was installed as nuncio last week, and spoke out at a liturgical reception held in the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin.

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The New York-born cleric has worked for the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith since 1994, and told those assembled to see him take his new role that Pope Benedict understood how "difficult" the last few decades had been for Irish Catholics.

However, Brown assured the congregation that the Holy See would continue to be "relentless and consistent" on tackling the sensitive issue, which has caused Irish-Vatican relations to plummet significantly.

Speaking of the pope's "hurt" over the scandal, Archbishop Brown stated: "He felt deeply the wounds of those who had been harmed and who so often had not been listened to.

"The Church herself is wounded by the sins of her members, and just as a sin produces a kind of spiritual energy which is grace, so too can there be a kind of spiritual paralysis in sections of the church, where that energy seems to have disappeared, enthusiasm is dissipated, liturgical life grows cold."

Brown also alluded to his Irish roots, saying: "I am the descendent of the men and women of Ireland, who emigrated from this island, possessing little more than the treasure of their Catholic faith, which they, through the generations, have passed on to me.

"Were it not for the faith of Ireland, I would not be a Catholic today."

The cathedral congregation featured government representatives including officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs. They heard how the pope had a "high regard" for Ireland and the country's Catholic history, adding: "In his name I greet you all and bring you his best wishes for all the people of Ireland, the government, and all members of the diplomatic community."

 

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