A PRIEST in the Diocese of Ferns has launched a stinging attack accusing the “wives and mothers of Ireland” of failing to deal with the abuse of their children by other family members.

A Catholic priest is claiming that the "wives and mothers of Ireland" are as culpable as the Church hierarchy in the cover-up of sexual abuse.

A BITTER stand-off between a local bishop and a priest who has locked himself in his parish home for the past 18 months has ended.