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His holiness Pope Benedict XVI - Source: Reuters -
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Irish singer Sinead O'Connor has called for Pope Benedict to step down over an Irish government report that said church leaders covered up widespread sexual abuse of children for 30 years.
The Vatican issued a statement on Friday saying the pope felt "outrage, betrayal and shame" over the scandal and would write to the Irish people about sexual abuse.
Ireland has been in a state of shock since the publication of the Murphy Commission Report two weeks ago.
The paper said the Church had "obsessively" hidden child abuse in the Dublin archdiocese from 1975 to 2004, and operated a policy of "don't ask, don't tell".
A number of bishops who worked in Dublin during the period covered by the report are likely to offer to resign, Church sources said.
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