Pope Benedict XVI has met Ireland's 24 Roman Catholic bishops to discuss a scandal over the sexual abuse of children by members of the country's clergy.
Monday's meeting between the pope and the bishops opened with a prayer and fraternal kisses in what Ireland's senior bishop called a first step toward repentance.
Cardinal Sean Brady, archbishop of Armagh and primate of all Ireland, told Vatican Radio that the two-day meeting was part of a "journey of repentance, reconciliation and renewal" for the Irish Church.
Two judicial reports published in Ireland last year revealed that church leaders had protected child-abusing priests from the law, while many fellow clerics turned a blind eye.
The reports, which shocked the nation, documented decades of sexual, physical and psychological abuse in Catholic-run schools, workhouses and orphanages.