A survivor of industrial school abuse, who took to the pulpit to call for a national day of atonement, has urged priests to give survivors an opportunity to speak to their fellow parishioners.

THE drip-feeding of disclosures needs to stop and a national inquiry launched, campaigners said last night after another Irish bishop apologised for failing to deal properly with abuse allegations against a priest.

The Bishop of Waterford and Lismore has apologised for how he dealt with child abuse allegations in the mid-1990's.

EVEN as their most senior leaders urged a fresh look at the child abuse indemnity deal which let religious congregations off lightly in terms of financial recompense, diocesan bishops displayed a marked reluctance to get involved in the controversy.

The retired Bishop of Waterford and Lismore Michael Russell has died aged 80 years, the Catholic Church said today.

“MY SON”, spelt out in blue and white flowers beside the coffin of 23-year-old John Grey, was the last message from his heartbroken parents before he was laid to rest yesterday in Waterford.

THE priest at the centre of a major AIDS scare controversy in Dungarvan a decade ago is at risk of being defrocked by the Catholic Church authorities if he continues to celebrate Mass.

John Murphy

The Bishop of Waterford has expressed his regret for the way in which the church has handled child sexual abuse cases in Ireland.