Pope Benedict XVI today will accept the resignation of a second Irish bishop over the Murphy Report into cover-ups of paedophile priests in the Dublin archdiocese.Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, Dr James Moriarty, will issue a farewell statement from his residence in Carlow after the official announcement is made at noon in Rome, 11am Irish time.
Dr Moriarty (73) was assistant bishop in Dublin from 1991 to 2002 before being appointed Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin.
Last December Pope Benedict accepted the resignation of the Bishop of Limerick, Dr Donal Murray, who was found by Judge Yvonne Murphy to have "handled a number of complaints and suspicions badly" when he was an assistant bishop in Dublin.
Although Bishop Moriarty was not directly criticised in the Murphy Report, he offered his resignation on December 23 for not challenging "the culture of secrecy" prevailing under former Dublin arch- bishop Cardinal Desmond Connell.
Scandal
Bishop Moriarty said it was important for him to fully accept the overall Murphy Report findings 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."
Meanwhile, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny is preparing to attack the Government's refusal to pay financial compensation directly to victims of industrial schools run by religious orders.
Last night, Michael O'Brien, a survivor of institutional abuse, revealed that Mr Kenny will challenge this controversial decision in the Dail today.
Mr Kenny is set to accuse Tanaiste and Education Minister Mary Coughlan of selling victims short, Mr O'Brien last night told the Irish Independent.
Last Thursday Mr O'Brien walked out of a meeting with Taoiseach Brian Cowen after being told that €110m would be put into a trust rather than be given to survivors who had not obtained compensation from the State's Redress Board.
Mr O'Brien told Mr Cowen that this trust offer was "a joke" and that it should be immediately allocated to survivors who needed immediate assistance.
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