this is bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh, live in dublin. the headlines at 12pm: the pope visits the shrine of knock — saying he begs for god's forgiveness over sex abuse allegations linked to the catholic church in ireland to the catholic church in ireland. translation: this open wound challenges us to be firm and decisive in the pursuit of truth and justice. the plane carrying the pope has just touched down back in dublin. this afternoon he is expected here in phoenix park, where he will celebrate a mass in front of a crowd of half a million people. and i'm ben brown — the other headlines this hour: senatorjohn mccain, the vietnam war hero turned senator and us presidential candidate, has died at the age of 81. new government plans ensure businesses keep commitments to workers and suppliers, if they go into insolvency.

emerson mnangagwa is sworn in as president of zimbabwe. the main opposition party boycott the ceremony. british scientists say they have pieced together what dinosaur dna looks like and their genetic structure is close to living birds. and, later, we'll be visiting america's first sustainable solar—powered town and going down under to see how technology is being used to protect the world's largest coral collection at the great barrier reef. that's in click. welcome back to phoenix park in

dublin. this huge space in dublin, where, this afternoon, 3pm, pope francis will be saying mass in front ofan francis will be saying mass in front of an estimated crowd of half a million people. you can't see the entire area behind me here where i'm standing, but it is huge. and it is filling up, despite the inclement weather from hours ago, filling up, despite the inclement weatherfrom hours ago, when filling up, despite the inclement weather from hours ago, when the first very hardy people arrived to ta ke first very hardy people arrived to take their positions. if we have a quick look at the scene at dublin airport, the pope's plane has arrived back from the area of knock, in the west of ireland, where he was visiting, this morning. we can't just see the shot of the plane at the moment, with the flight number ir2018, marking the pontiff's visit and the flight took him out to knock

from earlier on today. it was iri979, marking the last time the pope was in ireland, john paul ii was that there is the claim. it has the papal flag and the was that there is the claim. it has the papalflag and the irish was that there is the claim. it has the papal flag and the irish trickle oi’ the papal flag and the irish trickle orflag, flying from the papal flag and the irish trickle or flag, flying from the cockpit, as is the tradition on occasions like this. let's ta ke let's take a look at knock, that's where the pope visited earlier today, a holy shrine visited by 1,000,000 anda today, a holy shrine visited by 1,000,000 and a half pilgrims, each year. he delivered a short speech to the many thousands of people who turned out to see him there. in that speech, he prayed for god's forgiveness, for what he called the open wounds of abuse. and he also talked about taking decisive action,

to secure the pursuit of truth and justice. translation: this open wound challenges us to be firm and decisive in the pursuit of truth and justice. applause. translation: i beg the lord's forgiveness for these sins, and for the scandal and betrayal, led by so many others in god's family. undoubtedly, those words from pope francis are the sorts of words that many survivors of abuse want to hear. the right sort of language. although, he has used those words before. i was talking added to our religion editor, martin bashir, and he said he had heard pope francis

hughes almost exactly that form of words on a trip to bangladesh —— advances use almost. we are waiting for further reaction of abuse survivors to what pope francis had to say —— he had heard pope francis hughes almost those exact form. although he wanted to use those words, he wasn't laying out any particular steps or concrete measures beyond what the church has already announced by way of safeguarding measures and so on. that may be disappointing for some survivors of abuse. just taking a look back as the aer lingus plane carrying pope francis arrives back. at dublin airport, carrying the pope. he will be having a break, the 80—year—old pontiff, before coming

to phoenix park in the city to say mass later on today. he will deliver his homily to the gathered crowds, suspected to be around half a million people. he will also deliver a speech to irish bishops. it will be interesting to hear it in that speech, what words, if any, he has on the subject of the how the church has handled abuse cases. the main reason, the official reason for the pope's visit to ireland this weekend has been to take part in the world meeting of families, an event that happens, catholic church organised event, that happens every three yea rs. event, that happens every three years. so, much of the focus of the speech has been about the family, marriage, bringing up children in

faith. and with values. but, of course, many would say, if you're talking about the family, then, of course, it is the most appropriate time to address the... abuse of young children, that was carried out... by... priests and... in catholic run institutions in ireland. the commentators i've spoken to over the last 2a hours or so have said that it was unrealistic to expect or believe that the pope might set out, in any sort of detail, what further steps the church might take, to bring abusers all those who come up abuse, to justice. —— bring abusers all those who come up abuse, tojustice. —— or those who

come up abuse. but they were hopeful, according to some, that the church would soon be setting out further measures. —— or those who cover up further measures. —— or those who cover up yesterday, of course, as we have been reporting, pope francis spent 90 minutes talking to eight survivors of abuse. among them was mary collins, who was abused as a young girl. thank you for taking the time to talk to us. before i get you to react to what pope francis had to say in knock, earlier today, by telling us about that meeting and about the exchange that you had with pope francis, if you would. the meeting was eight survivors representing different areas where abuse had occurred in institutions and schools, etc. the meeting went on much longer than

was expected. francis gave as much time as was needed. everyone was very frank and very clear to him, in what had happened to them and what had happened in the institutions that they were in or they had come to or the people that they were representing. he spoke very freely, in exchange. there were no formalities. it was very open discussion. did you feel there was any progress? for me personally that probably was that for other survivors they asked him specific things, you might say. he promised to incorporate some of the things they asked and to do and say into his mass this afternoon. some specific points they wanted to speak on or mention. in my own case

i was asking him about accountability and whether there would be concrete steps in accountability. he seemed in his response to be content with what he said church leaders are being held accountable. having to face procedures. and when they are found guilty of cover—up, he is removing them. but i made the point that they are being allowed to resign as if it was voluntary. in fact,... inaudible that should be known. he agreed he will look at that. but i was disappointed there isn't going to be more open and transparent central accountability process or court, to hold these men to account. so, in other words, are you saying that you felt that the church wasn't really recognising the criminality of this? i think what they were doing is what they always do. they are trying to

protect the reputations of these men. if you like, letting them save face. by resigning. ratherthan being shown, if you like, humiliated in the public eye. and their guilt being made clear and their actions being made clear and their actions being made clear and their actions being made clear. and being accepted by the church, that these men don't have a right to hold the office they hold. making it clear. rather than just letting them sort of walk off into the distance in what looks like a resignation, with no finding of guilt against them. so, it's just the church doing what it always does, letting these men save face. that's what i said. you talk, marie collins fillet, about wanting greater transparency, what sort of measures and steps were

you and other survivors asking for? —— about greater transparency. you and other survivors asking for? -- about greater transparency. that was the basic one, the accountability one, not allowing anyone in church leadership to cover up anyone in church leadership to cover up and protect these men. what was pointed out to him was the enormous scale of the horrors inflicted on victims. and how many people are still living with that. i think he did see that. particularly in ireland, where there are particularly in ireland, where there a re lots of particularly in ireland, where there are lots of different things, the industrial schools, magdalene laundries, mother and baby homes where babies were taken from their mothers never seen again. they were discouraged from finding their children, children discouraged from finding their mothers. some of that i think new to him. in a way, specific to ireland. he wanted more information and clarity, so he could understand completely what had happened in these places. it was made clear to them that there was more thanjust made clear to them that there was

more than just clerical abuse in dioceses by individual priests. this was religious orders and women as well as men carrying out the most awful abuses. and that children were trapped in these institutions, with their abusers and the horror of that i think their abusers and the horror of that ithink did their abusers and the horror of that i think did get through to him. our viewers... our viewers may know, marie collins fillet, that you had been asked to ta ke fillet, that you had been asked to take part in pope francis's commission on the protection of minors. something that you step away from because of church bureaucracy and the pace of progress and so on but there you were, yesterday, talking again to the pope. it is a testa m e nt to talking again to the pope. it is a testament to your strength of character and your desire to keep talking, to keep pursuing justice. do you feel that there has been any

real progress on this trip in what pope francis has said? i think, as many people have given the opinion, his words were a great deal stronger than he is recognising the crimes. he is certainly recognising the cover—up is systemic and the scope of it. it is not something that a pope has come out, as he did in the letter the other day, and acknowledged. people in the church were still denying this sort of thing was happening. but with the pope himself now acknowledging there are men covering up the abuse that was good. but on the action inside, i don't think we will see a lot of change. i was disappointed, in talking about the commission, he talked about the fa ct the commission, he talked about the fact that now, the new term of the commission, that it has been fully integrated into the curia and he seemed pleased about that. originally the intention was that it

would be independent and bring in independent voices from outside the church and advise him. now it is pa rt church and advise him. now it is part of the mechanism that has a lwa ys part of the mechanism that has always been there and part of the bureaucracy. i see that as a negative, rather than a positive. marie, thank you very much for talking to us on bbc news. we really appreciate your time, telling us about that meeting with pope francis yesterday. i'm here at phoenix park where a mass is due to take place this afternoon. the pope will lead that mass, the final major public event of this world meeting of families that is taking place in dublin this weekend. earlier, i spoke to our religion editor, martin bashir and earlier, i spoke to our religion editor, martin bashirand i earlier, i spoke to our religion editor, martin bashir and i began by asking him about reports that were emerging overnight in the united states on cbs news, levelling

allegations against pope francis. archbishop vigano was the vatican's ambassador to america between 2011 and 2016. and he is claiming that in 2013, very soon after pope francis was elected, he had a conversation with the pope and warned him about cardinal thomas mccarrick, who of course resigned just a month ago as a cardinal in washington, dc. the allegations surrounded the abuse of some seminary students. cbs have obtained this letter, it's 11 pages long, and i want to quote to you from it. it says, "pope francis must be the first to set a good example to cardinals and bishops who covered up mccarrick‘s abuses, and he should resign, along with all of them." the vatican has not responded in any ways to these claims. we've made repeated requests for interviews from a spokesperson.

they have said nothing. but, interestingly, a source close to archbishop vigano has said that he has no evidence for this conversation having taken place. there is no documentary evidence or evidence of any sort being presented by either side? there's no e—mails, there is no correspondence. and what's also interesting about it is if the conversation took place in 2013, why did archbishop vigano not do something about it in the intervening five years? again, there is no reference to a continuing conversation. it's also worth saying that archbishop vigano has been part of a very conservative group of catholics in the hierarchy of the vatican. and there is a sense that the timing of this is not entirely an accident. because, of course, pope francis is here in ireland addressing decades of child sexual abuse allegations. so, there is some suggestion that there may be a

conspiracy, as it were, amongst some. but we haven't been able to have a reaction from the vatican, and archbishop vigano has also declined any requests for interview. can i also get your thoughts, martin, on what pope francis has been saying, especially this morning at knock, about the abuse scandal here in ireland, about how the church should deal with it? as you know, you have been listening to him yourself, you have heard him speak of repentance, of remorse. the problem that many survivors speak about is a complete absence of remedies. many survivors are saying that the church needs to embrace a zero—tolerance policy towards anybody in the clerical establishment, who may have allegations against them. they are also saying that the church needs to establish some protocols for transparency and accountability. and again, there just doesn't seem to be any of that. in so much as you can read into

what is a sentence, did the pope go further in knock this morning when he talked about decisive action to secure the pursuit of truth and justice? he's used that phrase, i heard him use that phrase in bangladesh, when i travelled with him to myanmar and bangladesh, and that's part of the problem. the language is absolutely right and clear. but where are the policies? and that's not me saying that. that's victims of abuse repeatedly saying, "when is pope francis going to produce the evidence of policies that are being applied right across the church?" now, of course, the challenge is we are talking about an institution with 1.2 billion members across the world, and so, it is very hard again to see how you can institute those policies universally. nevertheless, survivors are saying that pope francis gives that unless pope francis gives

very clear policies, then these words are simply words. and i'm reminded of that verse in the new testament in the epistle ofjames where he says, "faith without deeds is dead." martin bashir, our religion editor speaking to me a short time ago. meanwhile, as well as the scandals and challenges that the catholic church faces, and has faced here in ireland, the crowds gathering behind me in phoenix park in dublin are testa m e nt to me in phoenix park in dublin are testament to the very strong catholic faith that there still is in this country. predominantly catholic country. 500,000, half a million people expected in phoenix park, to hear the pope say mass at 3pm this afternoon. the events going on now i've produced to all of that. 1000 performers and entertainers

performing for the gathering crowds who are turning out, despite the inclement weather. we will, of course, bring you much more on that throughout the day. the headlines on bbc news... the pope visits the shrine of knock — and begs for god's forgiveness over sex abuse allegations linked to the catholic church in ireland. as you have been hearing. senatorjohn mccain, the vietnam war hero turned senator and us presidential candidate, has died at the age of 81. new government plans ensure businesses keep commitments to workers and suppliers, if they go into insolvency. sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's hugh. good afternoon. catalans dragons head coach steve mcnamara has told the bbc that victory for his side in the challenge cup final could give rugby league a boost not just in southern france, but across europe.

catalans became the first non—english side to win the trophy after beating warrington in yesterday's final. i think it will be massive. it has been a turbulent time over a number of years for the sport in france. this generally will grab national headlines in france that not only in france, that in spain, the catalan region and barcelona region in spain. they are proud we have represented catalan at wembley in the challenge cup final. that in england, being the first foreign tea m england, being the first foreign team to win in english domestic competition raises the profile in england or so. a big win over newcastle could put chelsea top of the premier league later. newcastle fans might not be too optimistic of victory though with the club still without a win this season and with protests planned at st james's park later, over a perceived lack of investment in the playing squad. i have a lot of sympathy for our fans, because they are really good. they know the city, they know the club, they know the north east and how well you can stay

here and you can live here. so, they know all these things. and they know they would like to see the team or the club doing things in one way. so, what i would say is that be sure, when you go to the stadium, you support the team, because it's the only way for us to be stronger. the other thing, i have to respect them and i have to concentrate on myjob. benitez is, of course, a former chelsea manager and his opposite number today, maurizio sarri, followed him into the napoli job three years ago. i have to say thank you to rafa, because when i arrived in naples, i had immediately the feeling that the team was almost ready to play my football. and if i arrived after another coach, maybe, for me, it was more difficult. so, i have to say thank you to him. newcastle v chelsea is a 4pm kick off, as is fulham's

home fixture against burnley, while at 1:30pm watford host crystal palace. in the scottish premiership, unbeaten rangers trail motherwell 1—0, as they went behind in just the third minute — still in the early stages. and champions celtic will aim to get their season back on track at home to hamilton at 3pm. serena williams has responded to french open organisers whose new rules would see her unable to wear the catsuit she wore at roland garros earlier this year. the suit was designed to help reduce the chances of blood clots, after complications during childbirth last year. obviously, the grand slams have a right to do what they want to do, but i feel like... if and when or if they know that some things are for health reasons, then there's no way that they wouldn't be a k with it.

i've since found other methods. —— 0k i've since found other methods. —— ok with it. when it comes to fashion, you don't want to be a repeat offender! it will be a while before this even has to come up again. the british moto gp race at silverstone has been delayed due to heavy rainfall. the race had originally been moved forward by 90 minutes to avoid the worst of the downpours, but the bikes weren't out for the new 11:30am start time and as yet there is no indication yet of a new start time. the teams will meet at 12:30pm to decide on the next steps. and don't forget lewis hamilton starts on pole for today's belgian grand prix — you that starts at 2pm — you can follow all the action on bbc radio 5 live and on the bbc sport website. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour. the veteran us war hero turned senatorjohn mccain has died at the age of 81. on friday, he announced he had stopped treatment for an aggressive brain tumour. president trump said, his "deepest sympathies and respect goes out to the family of senatorjohn mccain." barack obama, whojohn mccain ran

against in the 2008 presidential election, said, "john mccain and i were members of different generations, came from completely different backgrounds, and competed at the highest level of politics. but we shared, for all our differences, a fidelity to something higher — the ideals for which generations of americans and immigrants alike have fought, marched and sacrificed." and here, the prime minister, theresa may, tweeted: "john mccain was a great statesman, who embodied the idea of service over self. it was an honour to call him a friend of the uk." from washington, our correspondent chris buckler, looks back at his life. john mccain was a politician of principle. a patriot, who believed in his country, and fought for it, at tremendous cost to himself. as a young navy pilot, he was shot down over hanoi, interrogated and tortured.

his captors saw a potential propaganda coup, when his father became the commander of us forces in vietnam and offered him release. butjohn mccain refused, despite the many beatings he had suffered. on his return, he was hailed as a war hero and entered politics. and would eventually spend 35 years representing republicans inside congress. but he was fiercely independent and often spoke out against the party, notably challenging the influence of big money on american politics. the party establishment will have to finish me off anywhere. why is that? because i will break the iron triangle in washington of money, lobbying and legislation and they know that would be very, very disruptive, financially, to a lot of people's lives. he may have challenged washington, but he was respected here, too. and in 2008, he was selected as a republican presidential candidate. but his campaign was not without

mistakes and he was criticised for choosing sarah palin as his running mate. ultimately, he was to lose to history in the form of barack obama. i wish the outcome had been different, my friends. the road was a difficult one from the outset. but your support and friendship never wavered. in the divisive and aggressive world of american politics, there was always respect shown between president obama and john mccain. but donald trump didn't always show mccain such courtesy. he's not a war hero. he was captured for five and a half years... ..he is a war hero, because he was captured. i like people that weren't captured, ok? i hate to tell you. do you agree with that?! he was a war hero because he was captured!? his influence was still obvious in the twilight of his career. after brain surgery, he walked into the senate and stopped donald trump's attempts to get rid of the obamacare health reforms.

with a grand gesture, he turned his thumb down. john mccain was a fighter till the end. he lived longer than expected after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. his family said it was with his usual strength of will that he chose to stop receiving medical treatment, but he was a man who never gave up hope in politics, or in his own personal battles. i'm going home, for a while, to treat my illness. i have every intention of returning here and giving many of you cause to regret all the nice things you said about me. and i hope to impress on you again that it is an honour to serve the american people in your company. thank you, fellow senators, mr president. applause john mccain who has died at the age of 81. new government proposals mean that directors who dissolve companies

to avoid paying workers' wages or pensions could face heavy fines or be banned from running firms. ministers are planning changes in the wake of what they describe as "recent large—scale business failures". here's our business correspondent, jonty bloom. bhs went to the wall in 2016 with a huge hole in its pension fund yet had been a highly profitable com pa ny yea rs before company only years before and its directors continued to be highly paid, as the company fell to pieces around them. no laws were broken, but shareholders and suppliers lost millions, while workers lost theirjobs and their pensions were cut. now, the government has announced measures to try to restore faith in the management of companies, including plans to disqualify and fine directors, if they deliberately dissolve companies to avoid paying bills. it also wants company boards to show that if they pay dividends,