In his March 2010 Letter to Irish Catholics, Pope Benedict XVI wrote: "Earlier in my pontificate, in my concern to address this matter (sexual abuse of children), I asked the bishops of Ireland, to establish the truth of what happened in the past, to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent it from occurring again, to ensure that the principles of justice are fully respected, and above all, to bring healing to the victims and to all those affected by these egregious crimes."