Pope Benedict XVI pastoral letter on the sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy will be read his words of apology at churches across Ireland on Sunday.
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The pontiff told victims he was truly sorry for their suffering and admitted bishops had made grave errors of judgement in dealing with paedophile priests.
But he stopped short of directly addressing well-documented cover-ups by senior clergy in recent decades, with some survivors complaining the comments did not go far enough.
The letter, which congregations have been receiving at weekend Masses throughout Ireland, is the first of its kind to tackle clerical child abuse.
The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland Cardinal Sean Brady faced continued calls to step down over his handling of abuse claims which saw victims of Father Brendan Smyth sign confidentiality deals.
The Church was also stunned this week by disclosures that two other accused Irish priests agreed to pay thousands of pounds in out-of-court settlements to their alleged victims.
The fresh scandals follow recent state investigations in the Republic of Ireland which unearthed a litany of past clerical and institutional abuse against children.
Pope Benedict acknowledged that in the past there had been a misplaced emphasis on the Church's reputation and called for decisive action to restore people's respect and goodwill.
"I can only share in the dismay and the sense of betrayal that so many of you have experienced on learning of these sinful and criminal acts and the way Church authorities in Ireland dealt with them," he told followers.
"Together with the immense harm done to victims, great damage has been done to the Church and to the public perception of the priesthood and religious life."
But for some survivors of abuse the words were too little, too late.
Campaigners One in Four accused the Pope of skimming over the Vatican's role in the failings.
Andrew Madden who in 1995 became the first person in Ireland to go public with an abuse lawsuit against the church called on the pontiff to apologise for cover-ups.
"Most of the letter is stuff we heard before, we don't need to be told it was a crime or a sin," he added.
Cardinal Brady, who has said he would take a period of time to reflect on his future, asked people to read the letter with an open heart.
"In the name of the Church, Pope Benedict openly expresses the shame and remorse that we all feel about the abuse that has occurred," the under pressure primate said.
"He expresses the depth of the pain that has been caused and acknowledges that some people find it difficult even to go inside the doors of a church after all that has occurred."
In his letter the pontiff expressed willingness to meet victims and said there would be "apostolic visitation" of some Dioceses.
He also told religious figures who had abused children to answer for their actions before properly constituted tribunals.
Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin welcomed the pastoral letter as a further step in the Church's renewal and healing process.
"It deals with a dramatically painful chapter in the lives of the many who were abused," he told church goers.
"The Church tragically failed many of its children: it failed through abuse, it failed through not preventing abuse, it failed through covering up abuse."
© Press Association