Pope to meet sexual abuse victims in Ireland

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis will meet victims of clergy sexual abuse during his trip to Ireland this weekend, the Vatican said on Tuesday, as scandals in several countries mire the Catholic Church in its worst credibility crisis in more than 15 years.

Last week a grand jury in the US state of Pennsylvania released the findings of the largest-ever investigation of sex abuse in the U. S. Church, finding that 301 priests in the state had sexually abused minors over the past 70 years. The damning U. S. report, combined with scandals in Australia and Chile, have coalesced to form what one Vatican official called “a perfect storm” not seen since the first abuse crisis erupted in Boston in 2002.