Pope Francis spent almost two hours talking to Ireland’s bishops last week, telling them he wanted to hear their questions, concerns and even criticisms.
Pope Francis set aside a feature of bishops’ ad limina visits that began with Benedict XVI: writing a speech to the group, but handing the text to them instead of reading it.
Instead he sat with the 26 bishops and asked them what was on their minds.
Topics the bishops said they wanted to discuss included the ministry of a bishop, the clerical sexual abuse crisis, the role of women in the Church, the need to find new ways to engage with young people, the changing status of the Church in Irish society, and the importance of Catholic schools and methods for handing on the faith. They also spoke about plans for the World Meeting of Families in Dublin in August 2018.
