Acta Apostolicae Sedis - Commentarium Officiale924

SECRETARIA STATUS

Nota respiciens interventum pontificium quatenus graviora delicta.

On March 19, 2010, following a meeting with the Bishops of Ireland, His

Holiness Pope Benedict XVI issued a Pastoral Letter to the Catholics in

Ireland. The Letter expressed his deep sorrow and regret regarding abuse

perpetrated by priests and religious and the way in which such cases had

been responded to in the past. It also called for an Apostolic Visitation of

certain dioceses in Ireland, as well as seminaries and religious congregations.

"Pastoral in nature, the Visitation 'is intended to assist the local Church

on her path of renewal' 1 and is a sign of the Holy Father's desire, as the

Successor of Peter, to offer his pastoral solicitude to the Church in Ireland".2

In the months following the publication of the letter, preparatory meet-

ings were held with the appointed Visitators, representatives from the Holy

See, the Irish Episcopate and the Conference of Religious Superiors of Ireland

(CORI) in order to lay out a clear plan for the Visitation.

The Visitation will identify whether the mutual relationship of the var-

ious components of the local Church, seminaries and religious communities is

now in place, in order to sustain them on the path of profound spiritual

renewal already being pursued by the Church in Ireland. It also has the goal

of verifying the effectiveness of the present processes used in responding to

cases of abuse and of the current forms of assistance provided to the victims.

It will not be an investigation into individual cases of abuse nor a trial to

judge past events. The Visitators will have to identify the explicit problems

which may require some assistance from the Holy See.

The Visitation will in no way interfere with the ordinary activity of local

magistrates, nor with the activity of the Commissions of Investigation estab-

lished by the Irish Parliament nor with the work of any legislative authority,

which has competence in the area of prevention of abuse of minors. The

Visitation does not seek to replace the legitimate authority of the local

Bishops or Religious Superiors, who maintain responsibility in the handling

of cases of abuse.

1 Pastoral Letter of Pope Benedict XVI to the Catholics of Ireland. 2 Vatican Press Release, October 6, 2010.