Vatican: Clergy must admit blame for 'abominable acts'

Irish bishops meeting the Pope in Rome have been told that clergy who had sinned must admit blame for their "abominable acts".

The message came in a sermon by a top Vatican official just before the Irish church hierarchy met Pope Benedict XVI to discuss the Murphy and Ryan reports into clerical abuse.

The second of three sessions between the bishops, the Pope and senior Vatican officials is now underway.

The Irish delegation includes the Bishop of Galway, Martin Drennan, who has refused to resign in the wake of of the controversial reports.