Merkel addresses abuse scandal

Speaking in English, Benedict acknowledged the Irish church had been “severely shaken’’ as a result of the crisis and said he was “deeply concerned.’’

While the German scandal is particularly sensitive because it has landed the sexual abuse allegations on the doorstep of a sitting pope, in scope and numbers the Irish crisis is much greater.

There, three government-ordered investigations have documented a shocking catalog of child abuse and church coverups from the 1930s to 1990s involving more than 15,000 children.

At a St. Patrick’s Day Mass, Ireland’s highest-ranking church member, Cardinal Sean Brady, apologized to Irish Catholics. Brady has faced calls to resign after revelations that he failed to report to police allegations of abuse by two victims of a pedophile priest in 1975.

Merkel stressed in her remarks — her first public statement on the German scandal — that it was important not to point fingers, although the Catholic Church has been at the heart of the German scandal.

“I think that we all agree that sexual abuse of minors is a despicable crime and the only way for our society to come to terms with it is to look for the truth and find out everything that has happened,’’ Merkel said. “The damage suffered by the victims can never fully be repaired.’’