Celibacy can be a burden for some, says bishop

The Bishop of Killaloe says he believes that "many priests find celibacy a burden".

Bishop Willie Walsh has before questioned whether celibacy, along with the absence of women in handling child abuse cases and the Church's entire approach to sexuality, may have played a part in senior churchmen making mistakes.

A meeting of the country's bishops is underway in Maynooth this afternoon, after they were summoned to Rome by the Pope in the wake of the Murphy report.