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Pope meets Irish bishops over abuse report

Alleged victims of child abuse by Catholic priests in Ireland called on the Vatican Monday to hold its own investigation into the scandal and punish those responsible.

"We ask that you take action now according to the laws and traditions of our Holy Church and discover how and why the teachings of Jesus Christ were so flagrantly abrogated over many decades," John Kelly said in a letter to Pope Benedict XVI.

"We ask that you convene a special commission ... to examine all aspects of the historical misconduct of Catholic religious orders in Ireland as well as those priests who betrayed their most sacred vows," he said.

Kelly, the founder of Survivors of Child Abuse, or SOCA, released the letter as Irish Catholic bishops met the pope in Rome after a damning report on the abuse of children by Catholic clergy.

The report, which came out in November, found that the Catholic Church in Ireland covered up widespread child abuse from 1975 to 2004....

Four Irish bishops resigned in December after the report.
Read entire article at CNN