Dublin, Ireland, Feb 24, 2012 / 00:24 am
Pope Benedict XVI understands the struggles of the Irish Church and holds it in special esteem, new apostolic nuncio Archbishop Charles J. Brown said as he celebrated Mass in Dublin on Feb. 19.
“I have worked for many years very closely with the Holy Father and I can tell you from my personal experience that he has always had, and he continues to have, a great love for the people of Ireland and a high regard for the Catholic Church in Ireland,” the Pope's representative said at his formal welcome.
Archbishop Brown, who worked in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith with then-Cardinal Ratzinger, said the Pope “knows as well that these recent years have been difficult for Catholic believers in Ireland.”
The nuncio spoke from his experience, saying the Pope was “scandalized and dismayed as he learned about the tragedy of abuse perpetrated by some members of the clergy and of religious congregations. He felt deeply the wounds of those who had been harmed and who so often had not been listened to.”