Pope Francis confirmed today he plans to attend a big Catholic family rally in Ireland in August, visiting a once staunchly Roman Catholic country that has been devastated by the church's sex abuse crisis.
Francis made the long-awaited announcement at the end of his weekly general audience, saying he intends to go to Dublin on August 25-26 for the World Meeting of Families. He made no mention of an oft-rumoured stop in Northern Ireland.
It will be the first papal trip to Ireland since the explosion of sex abuse cases sorely compromised the Catholic Church's moral authority. In recent years, Ireland has legalized gay marriage over the church's objections, and this spring is due to hold a referendum on overturning a constitutional ban on abortion.
St John Paul II visited Ireland in 1979.
The World Meeting of Families is a triennial rally aimed at encouraging the church's vision of a family based on marriage between man and woman.
The Dublin organisers have come under fire from gay rights groups for removing references to homosexual relationships in conference promotional materials.
The meeting is the first since Francis issued his controversial document "The Joy of Love," which urged the church to better accompany "non-traditional" families, including those who have divorced or who have gay children.
Organisers have said the document, which contained a cautious opening to allowing divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Communion, will be the main reference point for discussion at the rally's workshops and events.
While in Ireland, Francis is likely to also face scrutiny over his handling of the sex abuse scandal, and would be under pressure to meet with survivors as he has done in the US, Chile and at the Vatican.
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