“I have found so much faith in Ireland,” Holy Father Pope Francis said at the end of his two-day visit to the land of Saints and Scholars. “The Irish have suffered so much from the scandals, but they know how to distinguish the truth from half-truths,” he said, reciting the words spoken to him by an unnamed Bishop a few hours earlier. And even if the healing process is ongoing, the faith of the Irish people remains solid.
As reported by Vatican news, Asked about how the “People of God” can and should respond to evils perpetrated by priests, His Holiness Pope Francis urged families to believe their children. “When you see something,” he said, “you must speak out immediately.”
On the other hand, the Pontiff also criticized irresponsible media outlets for judging people before the facts can be ascertained. He called to mind a case in Granada where a group of priests had been accused of pedophilia by a student who had written to the Pope. The humiliation the priests suffered proved to be a cruel injustice, because they were later found to be innocent. The Holy Father admitted that the work of journalists is delicate—they must say something, but, he insisted, “always with the presumption of innocence and not with the presumption of guilt.”
