Sunday, March 16, 2025, 4:33AM |  67°
MENU
Advertisement
The church of Dunlewey in County Donegal, Ireland, Aug. 22, 2018. Pope Francis is scheduled to arrive Saturday for a two-day visit to Ireland, the first since John Paul II four decades ago.
1
MORE

Pope Francis heads to Ireland amid a mixture of anticipation and anguish over abuse

Paulo Nunes dos Santos/The New York Times

Pope Francis heads to Ireland amid a mixture of anticipation and anguish over abuse

DUBLIN — Roisin Galvin was 12 years old the last time a pope came to say Mass at Dublin's vast public space, Phoenix Park.

The year was 1979, and the pontiff was a still-vigorous John Paul II, greeted enthusiastically by an overwhelmingly Catholic population.

Back then, all of Ms. Galvin's friends went to Mass regularly, but now she finds it difficult to raise her five children Catholic in a culture in which many Irish have left the faith or keep it in name only.

Advertisement

"There is only one Mass where I live on a Sunday, and all the priests are very elderly, " said Ms. Galvin, who lives in a village in County Dublin. "I'm wondering what's going to happen. Most of them are octogenarians. "

Pope Francis passes by a banner of a protester as he leaves after visiting St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland.
Chico Harlan, Stefano Pitrelli and Michelle Boorstein
Former Vatican ambassador claims Pope Benedict and Pope Francis knew of sexual misconduct allegations against McCarrick for years

She took heart from this week's international gathering known as the World Meeting of Families, which offered plenty of training, exhibits, encouragement and worshipful gatherings.

The conference, which occurs every three years and supports church teachings about the family, typically draws the pope at its conclusion.

Pope Francis is scheduled to arrive Saturday for a two-day visit to Ireland, the first since John Paul II four decades ago.

Advertisement

The last World Meeting of Families took place in Philadelphia in 2015. Pope Francis was greeted by throngs along Philadelphia's streets, the new pope's popularity still strong.

The visit inspired the hope that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia could finally turn the corner from scandal over sexual abuse exposed by earlier grand jury investigations.

And yet Pennsylvania itself now looms like a dark cloud over the visit of the pope here.

Earlier this week, Pope Francis acknowledged and apologized for widespread sexual abuse by priests across seven decades in the Keystone State.

Pope Francis arrives as people gather for the Closing Mass in Phoenix Park on August 26, 2018 in Dublin, Ireland. A congregation of approximately 500,000 people have gathered in Phoenix Park for the Closing Mass of the visit of Pope Francis to Ireland, centered on the Papal Cross in Phoenix Park, which was the site of the historic 1979 Papal Mass. Pope Francis is the 266th Catholic Pope and current sovereign of the Vatican. His visit, the first by a Pope since John Paul II's in 1979, is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of Catholics to a series of events in Dublin and Knock.
Peter Smith
Pope Francis celebrates his final Mass in Ireland amid call for him to quit over clergy abuse

He was reacting to a landmark statewide grand jury report earlier this month stating that more than 1,000 children were sexually abused by more than 300 priests across six Pennsylvania dioceses, including Pittsburgh and Greensburg.

The letter from the pope attempted to address the report in advance of his visit. Critics said it lacked specific remedies to the crisis.

The news from Pennsylvania has reopened deep wounds in this historic Catholic stronghold, where membership has declined amid wave after wave of revelations of calamitous abuse in church settings.

The Pennsylvania report, combined with the revelations of sexual abuse by disgraced former cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, have prompted calls worldwide for holding not just predator priests accountable but the bishops who enabled them.

Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington canceled a scheduled appearance at the World Meeting of Families after the report criticized his handling of abuse cases when he was Bishop of Pittsburgh.

During his visit, Pope Francis is expected to be privately with some victims of abuse. He will also meet with dignitaries, attend a stadium festival, visit a Marian shrine and conclude with a Mass with an expected 500,000 people in attendance in Dublin's Phoenix Park.

The news has knocked church leaders deeply on the defensive, not just in the Republic but throughout the island.

Bishop Donal McKeown of Derry in Northern Ireland told RTE television here: "I just cringe with embarrassment and shame for what has happened to people. There's nothing I can say that can ameliorate it or soften it. "

The international group Ending Clergy Abuse has called for Pope Francis to replace the head of his commission overseeing child protection, citing inadequate results and a lack of accountability for higher-ups.

So much has been discussed in media about the abuse crisis that other potential landmines for this visit have received less attention. Ireland is the first country to have legalized gay marriage by popular vote, and it also recently legalized abortion.

Census figures say the Catholic portion of Ireland's population has dropped six points to 78 percent since 2011, and down further from more than 90 percent two decades ago.

Many attribute this to the abuse scandals, but Mrs. Galvin believes that's only part of it. Ireland enjoyed economic growth for years before and after the turn of the millennium, earning the nickname Celtic Tiger.

"Money became God, "she said.

She is far from alone in keeping the faith, though.

Jude and Helen Usionwanta, immigrants from Nigeria, attended the World Meeting of Families with their four children. They acknowledge the crisis, but have hope.

"A lot of people are hurting, "said Ms. Usionwanta. "When a child is abused, that's not acceptable. I understand their pain. But I think the pope is trying to clean the church."

Peter Smith: petersmith@post-gazette.com.

First Published: August 24, 2018, 10:41 p.m.

RELATED
Pope Francis smiles on stage at The Festival of Families event at Croke Park on Saturday in Dublin, Ireland.
Peter Smith
Pope Francis, in Ireland, apologizes for 'grave scandal' of clergy sex abuse
Sen. Bob Casey in a Monday June 12, 2017 file photo.
Chris Brennan
Casey again calls for stronger federal laws on reporting of child abuse
A newly unveiled wax work of Pope Francis is carried at the National Wax Museum Plus, where it also unveiled a newly refurbished original 1979 Pope Mobile ahead of Pope Francis' visit to Ireland, in Dublin on Aug. 23, 2018.
Matthew Bell
For Irish Catholics, there’s both enthusiasm and anxiety about Pope Francis’ visit
An Indiana priest is assaulted in church by a man who said ‘this is for … the little kids’
Meagan Flynn
An Indiana priest is assaulted in church by a man who said ‘this is for … the little kids’
Mary Robb Jackson and her sister Cynthia Gardner were both molested by the Rev. Lawrence O'Connell when they attended St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin in Whitehall. They didn't connect their stories until the statewide grand jury report was released. Ms. Jackson was photographed at her Mt. Lebanon home on Monday.
Paula Reed Ward
With release of grand jury report, Mary Robb Jackson and her sister make a terrible discovery
Two of the five Fortney sisters, who were sexually abused as children, embrace during a press conference held by Attorney General Josh Shapiro for the release of a grand jury report investigating sexual abuse in six of Pennsylvania's Catholic dioceses, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018, in the state Capitol building in Harrisburg. The sisters asked only to be identified by their last name.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A Catholic crisis: A visual narrative of the grand jury report release
Greensburg pastor removed after diocese received allegation
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Greensburg pastor removed after diocese received allegation
A school bus drives past the entrance of North Catholic High School, Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018, in Cranberry Township.
Adam Smeltz
Cardinal Wuerl's name to be removed from high school
Bishop David Zubik speaks with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette during a one-on-one interview Tuesday at the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh office, Downtown.
Adam Smeltz
Pittsburgh Diocese receives about 50 new abuse claims after grand jury report
Judy Jones, midwest regional director of Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, talks with the Rev. Ronald Lengwin at the end of the session at the diocese offices Downtown on Monday.
Adam Smeltz
Spokesman: Pittsburgh Diocese could support bigger window for legal action over sexual abuse
Comments Disabled For This Story
Partners
Advertisement
Partygoers fill Semple Street during a party near the University of Pittsburgh on Saturday, March 15, 2025, in Oakland.
1
local
Police clear Oakland street of St. Patrick’s Day partygoers day after porch roof collapse
Ken Gormley Inauguration as Duquesne University's 13th President.
2
news
Duquesne University President Ken Gormley to step down in 2026
The Social Security Administration Building at 6117 Penn Circle North in East Liberty Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019 in Pittsburgh.
3
news
Social Security Administration to begin withholding full benefits from overpaid recipients
South Fayette bench celebrates a basket against Hollidaysburg  in a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal girls basketball playoff game at Armstrong High School on Saturday, March15, 2025.
4
sports
PIAA girls basketball playoffs: Uniform gaffe gives South Fayette pregame edge in win against Hollidaysburg
Firefighters and officers respond to a collapsed porch roof on Friday, March 14, 2025, in Oakland. Earlier, during a college party, the roof caved in with over a dozen people on and below the structure. Multiple injuries were reported, and the porch was condemned.
5
local
WATCH: Several injured after roof collapsed on Oakland building
The church of Dunlewey in County Donegal, Ireland, Aug. 22, 2018. Pope Francis is scheduled to arrive Saturday for a two-day visit to Ireland, the first since John Paul II four decades ago.  (Paulo Nunes dos Santos/The New York Times)
Paulo Nunes dos Santos/The New York Times
Advertisement
LATEST news
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story