Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday expressed in a letter 'shame and remorse' for episodes of child sex abuse in Ireland, and said bishops made grave errors in their response to allegations. 'You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry,' the pope said in a letter to Irish Catholics published on Saturday in response to the sex abuse scandals that have rocked the Irish Church. Since the Irish cases emerged, abuse scandals have come to light in the pope's native Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland. 'I can only share in the dismay and the sense of betrayal that so many of you have experienced,' said Benedict. The pope said priests and religious workers guilty of child abuse 'must answer' for their crimes 'before properly constituted tribunals.' 'Openly acknowledge your guilt, submit yourselves to the demands of justice, but do not despair of God's mercy,' he said, addressing himself to offenders. In the letter he signed on Friday, the pope underscored the responsibility of the Irish episcopate in dealing with the allegations, telling Irish bishops 'you and your predecessors failed, at times grievously, to apply the long-established norms of Canon law for the crime of child abuse.' The pope also announced a mission to Irish dioceses affected by sex scandals to assist 'the local Church on her path to renewal,' and said he was ready to meet victims of child abuse. The mission, a review of dioceses' conduct, would include seminaries and religious congregations under the supervision of the Vatican and the Irish episcopate. The pope, who has already met victims of child abuse in his trips to the United States and Australia in 2008, said 'I have met with victims of sexual abuse, as indeed I am ready to do in the future. 'I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured. Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has been violated,' Benedict told victims and their families. The Pope told offenders they had 'betrayed the trust that was placed in you by young and innocent people' and 'forfeited the esteem of the people of Ireland and brought shame and dishonour upon your confreres. '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,' he added. The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, said on Saturday he hoped the pope's letter would lead to 'a great season of rebirth.' The letter, to be read in all Irish dioceses, did not address offers of resignation from three Irish bishops since 'it is not a document on judicial or administrative measures,' the Vatican's spokesman Federico Lombardi told journalists. Predominantly Catholic Ireland has been shocked by three judicial reports in the last five years revealing ill-treatment, abuse and cruelty by clerics and a cover-up of their activities by church authorities. The latest revelations, compounded by evidence of a cover-up by the church hierarchy, shook Ireland late last year. One in Four, a leading Irish victims group said on Friday the pope should apologise to Irish sex abuse victims and admit the Catholic church abused its power and deliberately covered up the activities of paedophile priests. One in Four wants the pope to say 'clearly and unequivocally' that the church 'at the highest levels' had always known about the clerical sexual abuse of children. 