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Pope Francis has spoken of his 'pain and shame' at the 'grave scandal' of clerical sex abuse as protests over the scandal in the Catholic Church threaten to overshadow his visit to Ireland.
The pontiff said victims had a right to be outraged at the 'repellent crimes' against young people, while Ireland's prime minister Leo Varadkar urged him to 'listen to the victims', saying the history of abuse had left a legacy of 'sorrow and shame'.
The 81-year-old landed in Dublin this morning on an Alitalia flight from Rome - flying with the call sign 'Shepherd One' - to begin the first visit by a Pope to Ireland since John Paul II visited in 1979. This afternoon thousands of people crowded the streets of Dublin to watch him go by in his Popemobile.
He greets a country where Catholic loyalties are declining and which recently distanced itself further from the Vatican's teaching with a referendum vote to legalise abortion, three years after similar backing for same-sex marriage. This afternoon he met Ireland's first gay prime minister.
Tens of thousands gathered in Dublin as he passed through in his Popemobile, waving and smiling to the crowds on Dame Street. But protesters have assembled around the city to protest against clerical crimes, amid a row over the Vatican's response to similar claims of institutional abuse in America.
Well-wishers line the streets as Pope Francis travels through the streets of Dublin in his Popemobile on his visit to Ireland
Pope Francis delivers a speech in St Patrick's Hall at Dublin Castle where he spoke about sex abuse in the Catholic Church, saying he felt 'pain and shame' at the failure of church authorities to tackle the 'grave scandal' of clerical abuse in Ireland
The 81-year-old Pope Francis waves from his car at Dublin International Airport as he begins the first papal visit to Ireland since John Paul II went to the country in 1979
The pope's cape blows in the wind as he walks down the steps of his plane in Dublin today
Speaking at St Patrick's Hall in Dublin Castle, the Pope said: 'With regard to the most vulnerable, I cannot fail to acknowledge the grave scandal caused in Ireland by the abuse of young people by members of the church charged with responsibility for their protection and education,' he said.
'The failure of ecclesiastical authorities - bishops, religious superiors, priests and others - adequately to address these repellent crimes has rightly given rise to outrage and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community. I myself share those sentiments.'
'It is my hope that the gravity of the abuse scandals, which have cast light on the failings of many, will serve to emphasise the importance of the protection of minors and vulnerable adults on the part of society as a whole,' he said.
He also praised his predecessor, Benedict XVI, for tackling the issue, saying: 'His frank and decisive intervention continues to serve as an incentive for the efforts of the church's leadership both to remedy past mistakes and to adopt stringent norms meant to ensure that they do not happen again.'
Mr Varadkar said he hoped the papal visit would mark a 'new chapter' in Ireland's relationship with the Catholic Church.
'The Ireland of the 21st century is a very different place today than it was in the past. Ireland is increasingly diverse,' he said.
'One in six of us were not born here and there are more and more people who adhere to other faiths, or who are comfortable in declaring that they subscribe to no organised religion.
'We have voted in our parliament and by referendum to modernise our laws - understanding that marriages do not always work, that women should make their own decisions and that families come in many forms including those headed by a grandparent, lone parent or same-sex parents or parents who are divorced.'
He added: 'Holy Father, I believe that the time has now come for us to build a new relationship between church and state in Ireland - a new covenant for the 21st century. It is my hope that your visit marks the opening of a new chapter in the relationship between Ireland and the Catholic Church.
'Building on our intertwined history, and learning from our shared mistakes, it can be one in which religion is no longer at the centre of our society, but in which it still has an important place.'
The Pope puts his hand to his head before he speaks alongside Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at St Patrick's Hall in Dublin today
Pope Francis meets the President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina Coyne at Aras an Uachtarain, the official presidential residence
A protester holds a sign criticising the Catholic Church's handling of institutionalised sex abuse
People queuing on Gardiner Street, Dublin, on Saturday as they wait to attend the papal mass at St Mary's Pro-Cathedral
Francis travels on board the Popemobile on a procession through Dublin were large crowds turned out to see the pontiff
Crowds holding flags of the Vatican and the Republic of Ireland decorated with the Pope's face await Francis's arrival
Pope Francis has said he will meet with victims of clerical sex abuse in private, but protesters have gathered near Dublin Castle following criticism of the Vatican for its slow response to claims of systemic abuse in Pennsylvania.
Archbishop Eamon Martin said survivors were carrying a 'trauma' which the Pope's visit would not be able to heal, Sky News reported. 'We have no right to think that we can leave it behind us,' he said.
Francis is ostensibly in Ireland to attend the World Meeting of Families (WMOF) - a major global church event focused on promoting family values.
However, he will also fulfil a number of other engagements, including his meetings today with President Michael D Higgins and the joint speeches with Mr Varadkar.
With Ireland in the midst of a high-profile homelessness problem, the Pope will meet a number of affected individuals and families at a centre run by a religious order.
Tens of thousands of people were expected to line the streets of Dublin city centre on Saturday afternoon as he passes through in his famous Popemobile.
He passed close to the site of a former Magdalene laundry as he arrived on Sean McDermott Street in the north inner city to meet well-wishers outside Our Lady of Lourdes Church.
The notorious laundry institutions run by Catholic religious orders effectively incarcerated thousands of young women from troubled backgrounds and forced them to work under harsh conditions.
In 1979, Pope John Paul II was due to visit Our Lady of Lourdes church but famously failed to stop when his Popemobile tour of city fell behind schedule.
The present pontiff continued to St Mary's Pro-Cathedral where he spoke to local couples after praying at an altar which houses a perpetually lit candle for the victims of sexual abuse.
The Pope said that looking at the congregation comprising hundreds of young couples, he questioned those that claimed people no longer wanted to get married.
'Getting married and sharing your lives is a beautiful thing,' he told them.
In the evening, he will join 82,000 pilgrims at a musical festival in the landmark Croke Park Gaelic Athletic Association stadium.
Pope Francis speaking in St Patricks Hall in Dublin Castle on Saturday where he confronted the issue of Catholic sex abuse
Pope Francis speaks in St Patrick's Hall where he addressed the issue of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church
Pope Francis kisses a young girl at the end of his meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Saturday
The Pope emerges in Dublin where he will travel through the city on his Popemobile later on Saturday. Planes carrying him have the code name 'Shepherd One'
This morning he planted a tree at Aras an Uachtarain, the presidential residence, during his meeting with President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina Higgins.
Other dignitaries who have planted trees on the lawn at Aras an Uachtarain include Presidents John F Kennedy and Eamon de Valera, the Queen and President Barack Obama.
Mr Higgins also raised the issue of child sex abuse with Pope Francis during his visit, speaking of anger at those who had the responsibility of bringing abuse to the authorities and have not done so.
A spokesman for Mr Higgins said that during the meeting, the Irish President raised with the pope the 'immense suffering and hurt caused by child sex abuse perpetrated by some within the Catholic Church'.
Earlier this week, the Pope wrote a 2,000-word letter to Catholics in which he condemned the crime of sexual abuse by priests and subsequent cover-ups.
Multiple investigations have found that probes finding Catholic Church leaders protected hundreds of predatory priests over decades.
Pope Francis is greeted by members of the clergy and representatives of the Irish Government
Pope Francis arrives at Dublin International Airport on Saturday for his two-day visit to Ireland
The Pope waves ahead of a visit where he is expected to face criticism over clerical sex abuse
Pope Francis is driven away after arriving at Dublin International Airport on Saturday morning
They included former Irish president Mary McAleese, an opponent of the church's stance on LGBT issues.
Colm O'Gorman, who was a victim of sex abuse and leads Amnesty International in the Republic, said the Pope's address was a 'missed opportunity'.
He added: 'It is staggering to me that in 2018 we are still asking a Pope to take responsibility, not for his own actions necessarily, but for the actions of the institution that he heads.
'It is mind-boggling to me that to ask a Pope to tell the damned truth is a radical thing to suggest.'
The Vatican was rocked this month by a devastating US report into child sex abuse that accused more than 300 priests in the state of Pennsylvania of abusing more than 1,000 children since the 1950s.
Today the Pope was met on the red carpet by deputy head of government Simon Coveney and his children, who presented him with a bouquet of white and yellow roses with Irish foliage.
Mr Coveney said acknowledged that many people had mixed feelings about the visit, saying: 'I think it's been difficult for many people, for victims, for Catholics and many of the clergy.
'But I hope and expect that this weekend will be a very powerful moment. He has a personality that can reach out to Irish people.'
Protesters hold up a banner attacking the Catholic Church's role in historic sex abuse as the Pope travels through Dublin
Pope Francis prays in front of a candle lit to remember victims of abuse by the church, inside St Mary's Pro-Cathedral
Pope Francis sprinkling holy water upon arrival at St Mary's Pro-Cathedral in the latest leg of his visit to Dublin
Pope Francis arrives at St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, in Dublin on Saturday where he made his second address of the day
Pope Francis arrives for a visit to St Mary's Pro-Cathedral in Dublin to meet with recently-married couples
Pope Francis arrives for a meeting with Irish President Michael D Higgins, at Aras an Uachtarain in Phoenix Park, Dublin, as part of his visit to Ireland
Pope Francis is greeted by Minister for Children Katherine Zappone (right) as he meets President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins (right) at the presidential residence on Saturday
Pope Francis follows in predecessor John Paul II's footsteps plants a tree during a meeting with the Irish President
Pope Francis signs a guest book next to Ireland's President Michael Higgins and his wife Sabina during his visit in Dublin
The 81-year-old Pope and the 77-year-old President of Ireland are seen together at Aras an Uachtarain in Phoenix Park, Dublin
Pope Francis meets Irish trade minister Simon Coveney and his children at Dublin airport
Francis speaks to the trade minister, his wife Ruth and his children Beth, Jessica and Annalise
One of the Irish trade minister's daughters hands flowers to the Pope as he steps off the plane
Pope Francis is greeted by Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin on Saturday morning
A Navy band march prior to the arrival of Pope Francis at the Presidential residence in Dublin
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Burn those child rapists and those that protect them!
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