Humble Apology As Bishop Resigns

The Bishop of Limerick Donal Murray has today "humbly apologised" to victims of child sex abuse by members of the clergy just as the Vatican announced his resignation had been accepted by Pope Benedict XVI.

After weeks of speculation and concerns over the tenability of his position, the Vatican said today that the Pope had accepted his resignation as bishop of Limerick.

Speaking at Mass at St John's Cathedral in Limerick this afternoon, Bishop Murray said: "Some expressed the wish that I should resign; others asked me not to do so. I know full well that my resignation cannot undo the pain that survivors of abuse have suffered in the past and continue to suffer each day. I humbly apologise once again to all who were abused as little children. To all survivors of abuse I repeat that my primary concern is to assist in every way that I can, on their journey towards finding closure and serenity."

The bishop added he had asked the Pope to allow him resign and to appoint a new bishop to the diocese because "I believe that my presence will create difficulties for some of the survivors who must have first place in our thoughts and prayers.

“Let my last words as Bishop of Limerick be those I spoke in St. Joseph's on 29th November last: ‘We are people who believe that God’s mercy and God’s healing are without limit. We are meant to be bearers of that hope to one another and especially to people whose trust was betrayed when they were just little children and who endured the terror, helplessness and suffering inflicted by a frightening and dominant adult. They should always have a special place in our prayers."

The Bishop had came under intense fire when the recently published Murphy Report into clerical sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Dublin found he had taken inadequate action against a paedophile priest, most notably in relation to one priest, Fr Tom Naughton in 1983 who was jailed over sexual offences yesterday.

(DW/BMcC)