A pastoral visit by Pope Benedict to Ireland, north and south, would be "very helpful in addressing the present needs of the Irish Church", the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, has said.
He also felt that, were such a visit to take place, it should not be as an add-on to a papal visit elsewhere, such as Britain for example.
Speaking in Rome after he and the other Irish bishops had a general audience with Pope Benedict on Saturday at the end of their two-week ad limina visit to the Vatican, Archbishop Martin drew particular attention to remarks on clerical child sex abuse in the pope's address and what he [ the pope] referred to as "this time of purification" in the Irish Catholic Church.
The archbishop recalled that "he said to make sure the truth becomes known, that the whole truth must come out. That has been very much my policy."
Archbishop Martin felt the reception given the Irish bishops by the pope and various Vatican congregations and councils they met during the ad limina visit had been "encouraging".
At a press conference in the Irish College, conducted by Bishop Joseph Duffy of Clogher, Bishop Patrick Walsh of Down and Connor, and Bishop Michael Smith of Meath, following Saturday's general audience with the pope, Bishop Duffy said the visit had been "very satisfactory from the bishops' point of view".
The Roman Curia had been "very supportive and understanding of our particular problems", he said.
Bishop Smith also pointed out that the statement issued by the diocese of Ferns last Thursday, after its bishop Dr Denis Brennan had a private audience with Pope Benedict, had "the clear approval of the pope". Bishop Brennan had been asked to convey the pope's sentiments to the people of Ferns, he said.
In his address at Saturday's general audience, Pope Benedict told the Irish bishops that where clerical child sex abuse was concerned, "it is important to establish the truth of what happened in the past, to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent it from occurring again, to ensure that the principles of justice are fully respected and, above all, to bring healing to the victims and to all those affected by these egregious crimes".
He prayed that "this time of purification will enable all God's people in Ireland to 'maintain and perfect in their lives that holiness which they have received from God'.
On other matters, the pope spoke about emphasising the positive in the Christian message and correcting the idea that "Catholicism is merely 'a collection of prohibitions'."
He addressed declining vocations in Ireland and prayed for continuing progress towards a lasting peace in the North.
In an address at the beginning of Saturday's general audience, Ireland's Catholic primate, Archbishop Seán Brady, invited Pope Benedict to Ireland. "He smiled," was the response, according to both Archbishop Martin and Bishop Michael Smith.
Archbishop Brady continued that recent changes in Ireland had brought "social, moral and spiritual challenges. The influence of secularism has struck Ireland with great speed and intensity. Dramatic and disorientating changes are taking place, which pose enormous challenges for the preaching of the Gospel.
"This is particularly manifest in a loss of Christian memory. Increasing numbers create a false distinction between their Catholic identity and participation in ecclesial life."
On education, Archbishop Brady told the pope the bishops had been "particularly anxious to challenge the view that faith-based education is an obstacle to tolerance and inconsistent with the demands of an increasingly diverse society" .
On clerical child abuse, he told Pope Benedict no issue had received more time or attention from the Irish bishops "than the agonising problem of responding to those who have had their trust betrayed, their lives devastated and often their faith destroyed by sexual abuse inflicted on them by some priests and religious".
The abuse had also been "a source of great scandal and discouragement for the whole Catholic community, including the great majority of priests and religious", he said.
He also spoke about the Northern peace process and requested that St Columbanus be proclaimed a co-patron of Europe.
Most bishops showing little interest in healing wounds: Opinion, page 14
