The Catholic Primate Cardinal Sean Brady has acknowledged opinion poll findings that most people in the Republic believe he should resign were an expression of anger at him and the Church.But he has also spoken of the support he has received and how this keeps him going.
The latest Irish Times /Ipsos, MRBI poll shows 76 per cent of Irish adults believe that he should resign from office because of the sex abuse scandals in the Irish church. Some 15 per cent said he should not while 9 per cent had no opinion.
Speaking to The Irish Times at Maynooth this afternoon, where the Catholic bishops are attending their summer meeting, he said the poll findings "represent an amount of anger against the Church, against me, in the country."
He continued: "But I am also aware that I enjoy a lot of support and prayer and help at this time and that is what keeps me going, doing the work that I've got to do and promoting the renewal called for in the Pope's letter which we?ve been discussing this morning."
The Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said it was very hard to judge the poll findings. "Polls like that are asking one question to which you can only answer yes or no. They lack all subtlety or differentiation of expression. So it's very hard to judge them," he said. "However, I believe it says something about all of us, rather than just about Cardinal Brady. There is a crisis of confidence there."
Dr Martin said he accepted the church's response was unsatisfactory. "I'd be unsatisfied with the response. I was satisfied with some aspects of the response. I've gone round the diocese quite extensively listening to people and I know the strong points that are there and I know the points where the response is still fragile."
Attending his last quarterly meeting of the Irish Episcopal Conference the retiring Bishop of Killaloe Willie Walsh did not wish to comment on the poll findings.
"I'm not going to make any comment on that now at this stage. I'm bowing out I suppose with a sense of gratitude, a sense of relief, a burden lifted. I'm looking forward to a new phase." he said.
SIC: IT