Varadkar Set to Confront Pope over Abuse Scandals

By Ellen Coyne
The Times
June 28, 2018

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/varadkar-set-to-confront-pope-over-abuse-scandals-3bpscxt85

The Pope will meet the taoiseach during his visit to Ireland in August

Leo Varadkar will raise the issue of historic abuse of Irish citizens by the Catholic Church when he meets Pope Francis later this summer.

He is the latest senior member of government to signal that he will use the papal visit to Ireland in August to lobby the Vatican for reform.

The taoiseach has also indicated that the state will seek to remove religious influence from publicly funded hospitals and run them in a “secular” way. The Times understands that a key report examining the relationship between voluntary hospitals, including religious ones, and the public health service is due to be completed shortly before the Pope’s visit.

In the wake of a public spat between an archbishop and one of his cabinet ministers this week,…