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Sunday Mass-goers across Ireland have been read Pope Benedict's words of apology in his pastoral letter on clerical child abuse.
The pontiff told victims he was truly sorry for their suffering and admitted bishops had made grave errors of judgment in dealing with paedophile priests.
But he stopped short of directly addressing well-documented cover-ups by senior clergy in recent decades, with some survivors complaining his comments did not go far enough.
The letter, which congregations have been receiving at weekend Masses throughout the island, is the first of its kind to tackle clerical child abuse.
Its issuing came as head of the Catholic Church in Ireland Cardinal Sean Brady faced continued calls to step down over his handling of abuse claims which saw victims of Father Brendan Smyth sign confidentiality deals.
The Church was also stunned this week by disclosures that two other accused Irish priests agreed to pay thousands of pounds in out-of-court settlements to their alleged victims.
The fresh scandals follow recent state investigations in the Republic of Ireland which unearthed a sickening litany of past clerical and institutional abuse against children.
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Pope Benedict acknowledged that in the past there had been a misplaced emphasis on the Church's reputation and called for decisive action to restore people's respect and goodwill.
"I can only share in the dismay and the sense of betrayal that so many of you have experienced on learning of these sinful and criminal acts and the way Church authorities in Ireland dealt with them," he told followers.
"Together with the immense harm done to victims, great damage has been done to the Church and to the public perception of the priesthood and religious life."
