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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, a leading victims' group said Friday.

The One in Four group set out what they want Pope Benedict XVI to say in his pastoral letter to Ireland's Catholics about the clerical abuse scandal that has rocked the country.

The Vatican said the letter would be made public on Saturday.

One in Four wants the pope to say "clearly and unequivocally" that the church "at the highest levels" has always known about the clerical sexual abuse of children.

In its version of the letter, One in Four said it wanted the pope to say: "We have pursued a deliberate policy of cover-up, protecting sex offenders in order to avoid scandal, with no regard for the safety of children.

"The scandal of clerical sexual abuse is international and extends far beyond the Irish Church."

They also want the Pope to state that the church had "silenced and sanctioned courageous priests and lay people who have tried to expose the endemic sexual abuse."

The pope should say he is "deeply sorry", the group adds, and express regret at the way the Catholic Church had treated victims who came forward with their claims of abuse. Analysis: Hard line on paedophile priests was long in coming

The pontiff should admit that the church had adopted an "adversarial approach" which attempted to "deny or minimise" the experiences of victims.

One in Four wants Benedict to back mandatory reporting of all abuse allegations and to admit the church had hidden behind its own canonical law process in an attempt to operate outside the laws of Ireland.

Ireland's top churchman, Cardinal Sean Brady, has come under fire from campaigners for the last week after it emerged he had sworn two children to secrecy during a 1975 probe into their abuse by a serial paedophile, Father Brendan Smyth.

One In Four wants the Pope to fully acknowledge "that all senior churchmen must be accountable for the culture of secrecy and cover-up which exists" and that they should resign if their behaviour endangered children's wellbeing.

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. Main child abuse scandals faced by Catholic church

The latest revelations, compounded by evidence of a cover-up by the church hierarchy, shook Ireland late last year.

Since then, new abuse scandals have come to light in the pope's native Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Speaking in English to Irish pilgrims in St Peter's Square on Saint Patrick's Day the 82-year-old pontiff said he hoped his letter would "help in the process of repentance, healing and renewal."

AFP