Moriarty resignation piles pressure on three other Bishops

There is increasing pressure on the three remaining Bishops named in the Murphy report to resign.

Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin Dr James Moriarty announced yesterday that he has offered his resignation to the Pope. He is still in his position, until the expected acceptance by the Pope of his resignation in the new year.

Dr Moriarty accepted he should have challenged the prevailing culture in the Church regarding the handling of abuse allegations when he was appointed to the Dublin Archdiocese.

Bishop of Limerick Dr Donal Murray also resigned in the wake of the report which highlighted the failure of the Church to deal with cases of abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese.

Their resignations bring more pressure to bear on Bishops Martin Drennan, Ray Field and Éamonn Walsh, who were also named in the Murphy report.