Pope Benedict XVI has called the sexual abuse of children committed by Irish priests and other Catholic clergy between 1975 and 2004 “a heinous crime”.

For the past two days, the Pope has been discussing the scandal, in the Vatican, with several Irish bishops and high-ranking Vatican members. The scandal came to light in November 2009 when the Irish Ministry of Justice published a report about it. It then emerged that the Roman Catholic church in Ireland had known about the abuse at the time but had knowingly kept it secret.
 
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Vatican announced that the Pope and the Irish bishops have promised to cooperate with the Irish courts in their investigation of the abuse. At the Vatican conference, the participants also agreed on a plan that includes measures which could lead to the dismissal of those responsible.
 
Four Irish bishops have already tendered their resignations over the scandal. However, only that of former Limerick bishop Donald Murray, who was deputy bishop of Dublin from 1982 to 1996, had taken effect by the time of the Vatican conference.