diarmuid martin

There is a need "to work for a more reconciled Church" the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said in Lourdes today. He also expressed personal regret for people he has " hurt or offended", or "failed in my ministry to provide leadership on the path to a renewed and reconciled Church." He has also spoken of young people in this economic crisis "whose opportunities and dreams at the beginning of their working life have been dramatically restricted or even shattered."  

ARCHBISHOP of Dublin Diarmuid Martin yesterday refused to be drawn on the Pope's decision to reject the resignations of two bishops named in a report on cover-ups of paedophile clerics. Dr Martin refused to comment on the controversial move when asked about it after a ceremony at the Poor Clare Convent in Ballsbridge, Dublin. His silence comes as anger mounts at the decision by Pope Benedict XVI to allow bishops Eamonn Walsh and Raymond Field to keep their jobs.  

Irish analysts continue to scrutinize Pope Benedict's decision not to accept the resignations of two Dublin auxiliary bishops.  

Leaked tapes published on Saturday showed Cardinal Godfried Danneels, former Archbishop of Brussels-Mechelen, urging a man sexually abused by a bishop for 13 years not to make his case public, and to accept a private apology or keep silent until the prelate retired the following year. The tapes, secretly recorded by the victim, undermined Cardinal Danneels's earlier assertion that he only met the 42-year-old victim to mediate between him and his uncle, Bruges Bishop Roger Vangheluwe, who had abused him bet  

A DEFIANT Cardinal Sean Brady yesterday insisted he would not resign.  

IT was the first time in the hallowed litany of sacred musical pomp which traditionally surrounds the consecration of an Irish bishop that Frank Sinatra set the signature tune for the ceremony. St Patrick would surely have been bemused by the acclaim accorded yesterday at SS Peter & Paul's Cathedral in Ennis, Co Clare, to a lusty rendering of Ol' Blue Eyes's 'New York, New York' by the Ennis Brass Band. The unexpected selection of "Start spreading the news, I'm leaving today" added a carnival touch to  

ARCHBISHOP Diarmuid Martin's speech in Italy on Tuesday went a long way towards confirming what so many of us had suspected: that he is losing the battle for reform of the Catholic Church in Ireland, and that he knows it. It is nothing short of tragic that a man of such human and intellectual qualities should confess to discouragement. Tragic not only for him, but for a country that has lost faith in its institutions.