Catholic bishops in England and Wales today offered a full apology and said there were "no excuses" for the child abuse scandals that have rocked the church.

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

A second bishop was dramatically removed from the Catholic hierarchy over child sex abuse scandals tonight, with another three senior clerics expected to face the same fall from grace.

The authorities are paralysed to bring paedophile priests and the senior clerics who covered up decades of horrific abuse to justice, victims have claimed today.

Catholic bishops gathered for an extraordinary general meeting today in the wake of the damning report into clerical child sex abuse in the Dublin archdiocese.

IN our editorial of 24 December we stated that in 1993 Bishop James Moriarty had “learned the priest identified as Fr Edmondus in the Murphy report was sexually abusing children in the Dublin diocese.”

A prominent priest has said Irish society is "morally bankrupt".

THE Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin James Moriarty is one of 17 senior bishops who served in the Archdiocese of Dublin during the period investigated by the Murphy Commission.

GROUPS that provide support for those abused by Irish Catholic clerics last night called on all bishops named in the Murphy report to resign.

Nobody should take any satisfaction at this time of year from Dr James Moriarty’s decision to resign as Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin. It is a personal setback, but it had unfortunately become necessary. He had unwittingly become implicated in child abuse, even though he was accurate in saying that he did nothing wrong.

The Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin James Moriarty has offered his resignation to the Pope today.

There is speculation today that a second bishop criticised in the Murphy report is about to resign.

A SENIOR theologian has urged all five still-practising bishops who failed to prevent the sexual abuse of children in the Dublin Archdiocese to resign for the sake of the Church.

Nepalese security forces fought back a communist rebel attack today, as foreign diplomats sought to halt the country’s political crisis and officials placed the capital, Kathmandu under curfew for the fifth day due to anti-monarchy protests.

Nepal’s King Gyanendra today vowed to bring multiparty democracy back to his Himalayan nation, 14 months after he seized control and set off a bloody political crisis that has engulfed the country.

The Bishop of Kildare has defended the parish priest in Carlow who made a €92,000 tax settlement with the Revenue Commissioners earlier this year.

A US diplomat has warned that Nepal could slide into chaos unless the king makes peace with dissident politicians who oppose his absolute rule.

A GROUP of nuns are turning Irish missionary habits on their head by coming to Ireland from Africa to work with marginalised communities.

THE Taoiseach and Justice minister were among the guests at a special ceremony installing the new bishop of Kildare and Leighlin.

The Catholic diocese of Kildare and Leighlin is to get a new bishop today.