This is either the best or the worst time for a papal visit to Ireland. It’s easy to understand why it might be the worst. Consider these news stories from just the past week:
■ A grand jury report on six dioceses in Pennsylvania found that 300 priests had abused more than 1,000 people over a 70-year period.
■ The US bishops urged the Vatican to formally investigate how Theodore McCarrick was able to become Cardinal Archbishop of Washington DC despite warnings that he was a sexual predator.
■ Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston withdrew from the World Meeting of Families in Dublin to investigate claims of sexual misconduct at his archdiocesan seminary.
