with more it is a nation with more questions for the church. many people wanting the pope to set out a clear plan for how he will deal with priests who abuse children. for those who cover up abuse children. for those who cover up that abuse. yes, they want words of apology, but he has already issued apologies, saying, in the wa ke issued apologies, saying, in the wake of that grand jury report in pennsylvania, which implicated 300 priests in the abuse of more than a thousand children in the 1970s and 19805, that thousand children in the 1970s and 1980s, that we did not do enough for the little ones, we did not do enough to protect them, but where are the concrete steps to follow up those words? that is what many people are calling for, and why the eyes of the catholic world are watching ireland this weekend. we're

expecting a number of gatherings over this weekend, to reflect that viewpoint. to respectfully protest. they include gatherings organised by survivors of sex abuse carried out by priests. there will be another hugely poignant moment when people will tide children's shoes to the railings of the cathedral in dublin. that will reflect on the children who died at some of the mother and baby homes that were run by the catholic church, where unmarried mothers went to have their babies. hundreds of them buried in unmarked graves. it is a scandal that is being investigated. a major report is due in february. that is next year. the last of these institutions

closed on a bag in the 1980s. not in the grand scheme of things are very long time ago at all. the irish tricolour and the vatican flag fly in from the cockpit of the flight flag fly in from the cockpit of the flight as it taxis to a standstill. the steps, with the irish for welcome emblazoned on the side. still with me at dublin castle, where the pope will be arriving in a very short while, is shown amari from the irish independent newspaper, who has written extensively on a number of issues. —— shona murray. we were talking a short while ago about what the pope might need to say. what are some

people want to say and what he does say maybe two different things. we haven't heard what words he will offer on the subject of abuse. what do you think he needs to say? this week leading up to the pope's visit has reopened a lot of old wounds for irish people, for abuse survivors, for people that were incarcerated in the mother and baby homes, for women who have had babies taken away from them because they were unmarried mothers. for women in this country, this is 2018, the 50th anniversary of the pope's ruling against contraception, which basically put a lot of irish women into a world of perpetual childbirth. there has been a lot of traumatic impact from the catholic church xhaka stranglehold on this country. the pope needs to apologise to irish people and develop a much more respectful and mature relationship. most

importantly for abuse survivors they wa nt to importantly for abuse survivors they want to hear about injustice, impunity, 90% of the perpetrators of child abuse worldwide have gone free without prosecution, regardless of what jurisdiction they without prosecution, regardless of whatjurisdiction they came from. those i have spoken to over the last couple of weeks say they want to hear the pope say that they are going to develop mandatory reporting, they are going to ensure some of those priests, the ones that are still alive, the priests, brothers and nuns, that they will end up seeing justice, they will go to the police station and be prosecuted. i don't think that maybe thatis prosecuted. i don't think that maybe that is how far pope francis is going to go, unfortunately. i think that would be a real disappointment. ireland is the epicentre of the abuse scandals worldwide. the visit coincides with the pennsylvania grandjury coincides with the pennsylvania grand jury report, which was very similarto grand jury report, which was very similar to the ryan reported ten yea rs similar to the ryan reported ten years ago that gave testimonies of the litany of abuse against children in catholic run patricians. the ryan

report, and there have been other reports since then, many have been asking what has substantially changed in that time with regards to the safeguarding of children? mandatory reporting is something thatis mandatory reporting is something that is within the law in this country, but not something that is actually practised within the catholic institutions. if they were serious about the systemic abuse, that would be one of the first things they would employ. that has not happened and that is a real concern for people. as you mentioned, we still have more reports to come. the other commission of inquiry into the mother and baby homes, that is still to come. the last one is closed in the early 90s. there were still plenty of youngish women in this country who don't know the fate of their own children. there are plenty of people who don't know who their pa rents were of people who don't know who their parents were because of that. for those that don't know, tell us more about those mist and murkm those that don't know, tell us more about those mist and murk it was an institution run by the catholic church. the state—sponsored it they

we re church. the state—sponsored it they were seen that was disrespectful, because they were pregnant outside wedlock. the state supported it, but they were catholic run. mothers were sent away and had to give their children up to adoption. there are a lot of people still alive who were responsible for it who have not faced the full rigours of the law. you can see at dublin airport the image of the flight that has just brought pope francis from rome to dublin, the first papal visit to ireland for almost a0 years. 1979, john paul ii, huge adulation when he

came here four decades ago. you know, we are talking about the scandals that have to be confronted, causing so much pain, hurt and unease. a lot of people will be coming with absolute joy and adulation? a lot of people in this country support the catholic church and christianity. they believe you can't separate the catholic church, the systemic abuse within the catholic church, the cover—ups and the word and message ofjesus of nazareth, , the word and message ofjesus of nazareth,, because they would see that behaviour by the priests, by the institution itself, as an antithesis to the word ofjesus. they still regard pope francis as god's a presentation on earth, so they will support him for that reason. there are still devout catholics, but if you look at the

trajectory of how the country has moved, 67% of people voted to allow abortion in this country. that is something that is completely a part of catholic teaching, to be against abortion. same with the lgbt community and same—sex marriage. many people voted for that, in spite of the fact that the catholic hierarchy have cast doubt lgbt members, even those that still want to remain part of the church. there is an element that people will make decisions about where their moral authority comes from. one of the speakers at the family event in the run—up to this weekend is a jesuit priest from the states who is thought to be quite liberal on lgbt issues, talking about the church opening up and being welcome, welcoming the families of lgbt members. he has been appointed by

pope francis as the vatican's communication secretary. where do you think pope francis stands on the issue of the inclusion of lgbt people in the catholic church? those state m e nts people in the catholic church? those statements earlier in the week were very warmly welcomed by the lgbt community, but also by citizens of this state who voted in a referendum to allow same—sex marriage and have long since decided that being a member of the lgbt community is com pletely member of the lgbt community is completely acceptable. some people could say it is too late. for a long time they have been given the opportunity to accept this as part of normal behaviour. they have resisted in doing so. when you look at ireland, when we have the same six marriage referendum, the catholic church issued a statement saying it was a bad day for humanity, essentially. at the same time, we have heard utterances from pope francis in the past saying that members of the lgbt community should be accepted and loved, and should be allowed into the family of god. but

really, they haven't changed their teaching on this. that is really where all of this matters. we have heard the apology is week, we have heard the apology is week, we have heard apologies over the past few yea rs. heard apologies over the past few years. but we haven't seen any action. so until the catholic church decides to change its position, fundamentally, on lgbt people and other areas, then we will see what they really mean. ok, do stay with me. let's just take a more focused look at these images as we wait for pope francis to emerge from that fight. many people might remember the images pope john fight. many people might remember the images popejohn paul kissing the images popejohn paul kissing the ground. that was an iconic image from that visit. a number of people, including those that use or

disappearing from shot, and ecclesiastical diplomat, the vatican's representative in ireland. the vatican flag and irish tricolour flying in the breeze. simon coveney, the deputy prime minister, the foreign affairs minister as well, with his wife and his three children, bethany, angelica, and annelise, who will be presenting flowers to the pope. you have the assembled clerics, waiting to greet him. as well as the ambassador of ireland to the holy see, to the vatican. so, for catholics in

ireland, this next visit has been a long time coming. it comes at a crucial time for the relationship between the catholic church and its people. let's just listen. pope francis. we should see him emerge in the next

few moments. simon coveney, the irish deputy prime minister and his family stepping forward. the children presenting pope francis with a bouquet of flowers. an important image, being welcomed to the state, albeit a state that wa nts to to the state, albeit a state that wants to write a new chapter between the two. vestments, ropes designed by children. —— robes. greeted by other members of the

official welcoming party. the flight, while it was on its way, as is customary, papal blessings we re as is customary, papal blessings were made as it reached each new airspace. there is, the first of many blessings that will be given this weekend. that is pope francis, greeting assembled archbishops, including the archbishop of armagh, of dublin,

david martin, who has called for the church to do more to deal with abuse, to take some steps to deal with abuse, and those that cover it up. the archbishop of the west of ireland, where a mass grave containing hundreds of bodies of children born in a home for unmarried mothers was uncovered. a home that was run by the catholic church. he is among those greeting pope francis. let me tell you a little bit about what he will be doing on this first part of his weekend visit to ireland. he will be

going to the official residence of the irish president, michael d higgins. he will have a conversation with him. he will plant a tree in the gardens there, close to a tree planted byjohn paul ii in 1979, an irish show, and he will be coming to dublin castle, where i am speaking you from. —— irish oak. he will be meeting the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, and delivering a speech in which he will be talking about, amongst other things, the abuse of children by priests and in catholic run institutions. we await the year the precise nature of what he will say. —— await to hear. there will probably be an apology. he has

issued apologies before, but will there be anything in terms of concrete steps that many of the survivors of abuse on the pope to speak about on this visit? throughout the weekend, we will be bringing you details of all of the events he will be attending, including tomorrow, in phoenix park, the massive mass, a culmination of this world meeting of families that is being hosted in dublin. half a million people are more are expected. there will also be protests, acts of remembrance for the victims of abuse and other victims of catholic institutions, taking place this weekend. a different atmosphere from 1979, and the adulation that greeted john paul ii. we will bring coverage of all of that to you. right now, back to the studio. thank you very much. now on bbc news, it's time for the travel show. mauritius, a force of nature in the middle of the indian ocean.

mauritius is marking the 50th year of independence from british colonial rule, but the intriguing, rich and sometimes dark story of this island nation goes back way before then. 0n myjourney, i'm going to explore the history of mauritius. see and taste how multiculturalism works here. mmmm, that is nice. this island is so often labelled as just a luxury beach paradise, but the reality is so much more fascinating than that. mauritius, gorgeous beaches, turquoise waters and lush

vegetation, but the human story is just as awe—inspiring. le morne mountain, on the south—west of the island, faces in the direction of madagascar and stands 555 metres high. it's also at a a5—degree incline. no walk in the park. for the likes of me, this is a challenging climb, i've got to say. in fact, i'd say for anybody it's challenging. whoa. near the top, ijoin a guide who's done this climb up to three times a day every day pretty well for 13 years. you can feel it's

all, like, volcanic. this is volcanic rock? yeah, yeah, yeah. it's probably from the first eruption 10 million years ago. ten million years ago? yeah. and actually it's very good for climbing. yeah, there's lots of good grip. le morne marks a dark but symbolic chapter in the island's history, the days of slavery under dutch, french and british rule. this is where many escaped slaves, called the maroons, found refuge. they could have a look towards madagascar and for them... that's home. that was home, you know, it was the sight and they expected one day maybe to build, like, a craft and go back home and just to escape from this prison. horrible. it's a world away up here from the beach resorts that populate the rest of the island, but actually, this trek is almost

a pilgrimage to get to the very heart of mauritian identity. and there's a particularly poignant tale told about the maroons in what should have been their moment of celebration. when slavery was abolished here in 1835, soldiers climbed the mountain to tell the maroons that they were free, but the escaped slaves thought that they were being recaptured and instead chose to jump off the mountain. why do you think this is so important to the identity of people from mauritius? because i guess it's a unique story. it's part of our story here in mauritius and it's one of the only places we know of that somehow the slaves resisted their masters, and for us, it's almost like a venerated mountain, a sacred mountain, not only for the descendants of a slave but for

the mauritians as well. after slavery was abolished, the british brought in hundreds of thousands of so—called indentured labourers from india and china in what was known as the great experiment. today, port louis is the country's capital, with its colonial legacy and contemporary diversity everywhere to be seen. i'm about to get a personalised, unique tour of what this city

and mauritius offers in terms of its diverse food and other wares as well. hi, how do you do? nice to meet you. hi. nice to meet you. so this is a food place here? yes. but you'd never know to look at it, it's pretty low—key. yes, but it's pretty famous as well. he's making some deep—fried cakes. 0k. mauritians are fond of deep—fried cakes, you can deep—fry almost everything. it's just — he has this batter that he made, it's with chickpea flour, some herbs and salt. mauritius may seem isolated in the middle of the indian ocean, but it was actually nicely placed on the spice route, which linked asia, africa and europe. now he's adding all the herbs you need for the chilly bites. and the chillis. chillis. yeah. are they strong chillis? spring onions. there's a clear influence from gujarati traders whose

forefathers came over from india in the 19th century, but there's a distinctive mauritian accent to the food too. he coughs itjust hit me! now this is a multi—ethnic, multicultural, multi—lingual, multi—religion country, so hinduism is the majority religion but you've also got christianity, islam, chinese religions, buddhism, it's all here. where are we now? we are in a small market which is made up of street vendors. all these people, they used to be selling everything from clothes, to food to electronic gadgets on the street, but that was illegal so the state gave them some spaces. bonjour.

ca va? so this is arthur, he used to be on a street corner in chinatown selling dumplings with his father. so now he's here. chinese—mauritian? yeah, yeah. this is the long fish? yes, the long fish. that is nice, that's really good. how many years have you worked here? for myself, after schooling, it's near to 50 years. 50 yea rs! the sheer diversity of food is one benefit of the cultural hotpot in mauritius. another is language, french, english and creole are all spoken here. and then, there's music. sega is a rhythm and genre indigenous to this island.

and this lady is known as the voice of the indian ocean. the distinctive drum is called the ravanne, a home—grown instrument. and in this 50th anniversary year of independence, it seems the people of this island have plenty to celebrate. during my time here, i've seen a strong sense of nationhood amongst mauritians, and also realisation that precious wildlife must be protected. this is a relatively prosperous country, breaking free from its complicated and sometimes shameful colonial past. and what's exciting is that right now, its unique cultural identity is still evolving and making it so much more thanjust a high—end holiday hotspot. i'm annita mcveigh live in dublin — the headlines at 11: pope francis has arrived in ireland for the first papal visit in almost a0 years.

the pope is expected to be welcomed by around half a million people in dublin. but the visit comes as criticism continues about the catholic church's handling of child abuse by priests. i'll be bringing you all the latest live from dublin. and i'm shaun ley — the other headlines this hour... women in england are to be allowed to take the second of two early abortion pills in their own homes instead of in a clinic. holiday—makers arrive home after being flown back early from an egyptian hotel, following the unexplained deaths