Irish bishop resigns over apathy towards child sex abuse culture

(April 23, 2010) Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday accepted the resignation of Bishop James Moriarty of Kildare and Leighlin, Ireland, who said he should have challenged the culture of silence in the Irish church when priests were accused of sexually abusing minors. In a statement on Thursday, the 73-year old bishop apologized to victims of clerical sex abuse and said it was blatantly un-Christian of bishops to argue about their degree of responsibility for the scandal when the victims were in such pain. Bishop Moriarty had announced on Dec. 23 that he had offered to resign, saying at the time he fully accepted the overall conclusion" of the independent Murphy Report commission "that the attempts by church authorities to 'protect the church' and to 'avoid scandal' had the most dreadful consequences for children and were deeply wrong." In his statement on Thursday, the bishop said that while he was not directly criticized in the Murphy Report, he should have challenged the prevailing culture. Bishop Moriarty said he hoped his resignation would honour "the truth that the survivors have so bravely uncovered" and that it would open the way "to a better future for all concerned."