There was no doubt about the meaning of his comments.
Pope Francis has made the first of four planned public addresses during his visit to Ireland.
The head of the Catholic Church took to the podium following a strong speech from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, which you can
read in full here.
Pope Francis stopped short of apologising for crimes committed by the clergy, but said he has recognised how the Church’s failure to address the "repellent crimes" of clerical sexual abuse “remains a source of pain and shame” for the Catholic community.
"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 these sentiments," Pope Francis said.
He also discussed the unborn briefly in his speech.
Pope Francis questioned whether the "materialistic, throwaway culture" has made people "increasingly indifferent to the poor and to the most defenceless members of our human family, including the unborn, deprived of the very right to life".
On 25 May 2018, a referendum was passed overwhelmingly by the Irish people to delete the constitutional ban on abortion, and is awaiting being signed into law.
He also mentioned peace process in Northern Ireland and said he hoped it would overcome every "remaining obstacle".
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