Pope fails to call for resignations in abuse scandal

Pope Benedict XVI urged Irish clergy to be courageous in confronting the paedophile priest scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church, but took no action on victims’ demands that he force top bishops to resign, the Vatican said.

The Vatican statement came as the Pope and Irish bishops ended an extraordinary meeting on the crisis meant to restore the trust of Irish Catholics shaken by revelations of decades of clergy sex abuse and cover-up.