Pope Francis Meets With 8 Irish Church Abuse Survivors, Vatican Says

(DUBLIN) — The Vatican says Pope Francis has met with eight survivors of clerical and institutional abuse on the first day of his trip to Ireland, which is ground zero for the Catholic Church’s abuse scandal.

Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said Francis met with the group for about a half hour Saturday evening. Among the victims was Marie Collins, a prominent survivor who served on Francis’ advisory board but quit in frustration last year. She has since become a harsh critic of the Vatican, and occasionally the pope.

Burke named several participants after they agreed to be identified publicly. They included two priests and a public official.

Francis arrived in Dublin on Saturday and vowed to end the “scourge” of abuse. He said he shared the outrage over the cover-up of “these repugnant crimes.”