Under-pressure Cardinal 'confident of prayers and support'

Cardinal Sean Brady tonight said he was confident he had the prayers and support of many people despite three quarters of adults believing he should stand down over child sex abuse scandals in the Irish Church.

The Primate of All Ireland revealed he was aware of the findings of an opinion poll in which 76% felt he should resign.

Elsewhere just 11% believed the Church had responded adequately to the Murphy Report on the handling of child sexual abuse in the Dublin diocese.

The scathing findings in the Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll were revealed as Cardinal Brady attended the Irish Bishops summer meeting in Maynooth.

"Cardinal Brady is aware of the opinion poll findings and of the anger of people concerning child sexual abuse," said the Catholic Communications Office in a statement.

"Cardinal Brady is also confident that he has the prayers and support of many people as he continues his work in renewing faith and structures in the Church at this challenging time."

The Cardinal has been under intense pressure since it emerged earlier this year that he was at a meeting in the 1970s where two young victims of notorious paedophile priest Brendan Smyth signed vows of secrecy.

The civil authorities were not informed, enabling Smyth to continue his reign of abuse for a further two decades.

Last month, the 70-year-old senior cleric refused to resign over his handling of child abuse claims.

The poll revealed the strongest opposition to the cardinal was expressed in Dublin, where 83% wanted him to go, followed by 75% in the rest of Leinster and 74% in Munster.

The skilled working class was the most hard-hitting, with 84% wanting him out, with 25 to 34-year-olds most against him.

Elsewhere Fianna Fáil voters, farmers, the over-65s and those in the Connacht/Ulster region were most supportive.

More than 1,000 adults were quizzed for the poll which was taken on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week.