Outrage As Pope Rejects Bishops' Resignation Letters

Pope Benedict has sensationally told two Irish bishops who offered to resign in the wake of a report into child sex abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese: keep your jobs.

The decision has sparked outrage among victims groups, who called it "extraordinary" and "astonishing".

"There's a cancer within the church and the pope knows it," said abuse survivor John Kelly.

"That cancer needs to be eradicated and Pope Benedict is the only one who can remove it, and he is refusing to do it."

Bishops Eamonn Walsh and Raymond Field tendered their resignations on Christmas Eve last, amid mounting public pressure following the publication of the Murphy report.

Both men initially rejected calls for their resignation - pointing out that while they were named in the Murphy Report, it contained no specific criticisms of them or their actions.

But pressure on the pair intensified amid a media and public outcry that all bishops who had served in the diocese during the period covered by the report had a collective responsibility.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin went on television to say that all bishops named should take responsibility.

The pope's refusal to accept the resignations is being seen a public rebuke for Archbishop Martin, who has been lauded with praise by the Irish public for his refreshing approach to tackling the issue.

Archbishop Martin, who spent years working as a diplomat in the Vatican, was appointed to the Dublin diocese in 2004, and clashed from day one with his predecessors, as he handed over previously hidden files to the State inquiry.

Now, he has two Bishops on his team that he clearly doesn't want. Bishops Walsh and Field are to remain as auxiliary bishops in the Dublin diocese, although they are to be assigned, as yet unspecified, "revised responsibilities within the diocese".

Two other bishops named in the report - Bishop Donal Murray and Bishop Jim Moriarty - have had offers of resignation accepted by the Vatican.

A fifth, Bishop Martin Drennan of Galway, has resisted calls for his resignation, insisting he had done no wrong.

Abuse survivor Marie Collins said she was "at a loss" to understand the Vatican's decision to reject the latest resignations, and she was "past angry".

She said people, and victims in particular, were "entitled to know why Bishop Moriarty's resignation was accepted, and Bishops Walsh's and Bishop Field's were not".

Another survivor, Andrew Madden, said the development was "no surprise", given the eight-month delay in coming to a decision.

He said since the Murphy Report was published the Catholic Church in Ireland and at Vatican level, has failed to take responsibility for its findings, "in particular the finding that sexual abuse of children by priests was covered up by archbishops and bishops for decades".

He said the decision was in line with the refusal of Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop of Armagh, Cardinal Sean Brady to step down earlier this year, after revelations of his involvement 35 years ago in the case of notorious paedophile Fr Brendan Smyth.

"Pope Benedict and Cardinal Brady both failed to protect children from priests they knew to be abusers and in both cases those priests went on to abuse more children - in that context the announcement should come as no surprise," he said.

Observers say the Vatican was concerned about a possible "domino effect" - that there could be other bishops with allegations of mishandling abuse who could then come under pressure to step down.

They also say the Holy See hates to be seen to dismiss bishops, solely in response to public and media pressure.

But whatever the motives for rejecting the resignations, the decision has dealt another hammer blow to the Catholic faithful in Ireland who wish to see the church reformed.

In their resignation letters last December, Bishops Walsh and Field said "it was (their) hope that (their) action may help to bring the peace and reconciliation of Jesus Christ to the victims/survivors of child sexual abuse".

But the Pope's decision to reject the resignations was described by some as "rubbing salt into the wounds of victims".

Deirdre Kenny of the One in Four advocacy group said: "When the two bishops offered their resignations they said they hoped their action would bring peace and reconciliation to the victims of clerical abuse but that has now been undone by the pope's refusal to accept their resignation."

"It raises questions about the Vatican's attitude around accountability and again leaves abuse survivors feeling the church does not understand the damage that has been caused".