A cardinal, several bishops and gardaí face damning criticism tonight over revelations a serial paedophile priest was free to abuse for 16 years.

The Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has issued an apology after an inquiry revealed today that the Vatican wanted paedophile priest Tony Walsh to serve 10 years in a monastery rather than force him out of the Catholic Church.

The Vatican wanted a dangerous Irish paedophile priest to serve 10 years in a monastery rather than force him out of the Catholic Church, an inquiry revealed today.

One of Ireland’s highest ranking Catholics today denounced the Church for having grown self-centred and arrogant in the wake of the clerical child abuse scandals.

Notorious paedophile Tony Walsh is facing up to life imprisonment for sexually abusing three young boys while he served as a priest in Ballyfermot in Dublin.