A retired Bishop who mishandled clerical child sex abuse cases has resigned as head of a charity.
Bishop Dermot O'Mahony quit as patron of The Irish Pilgrimage Trust as a second senior cleric, Bishop Donal Murray of Limerick, was expected to offer his resignation in the Vatican.
They are the first churchmen to stand down after a state inquiry uncovered a sickening catalogue of paedophilia among priests in the Dublin Archdiocese and cover-ups by the Catholic hierarchy.
In a letter to the charity, which takes groups including young disabled pilgrims to Lourdes, Bishop O'Mahony said he had been considering his position for several months.
"In view of the unfavourable criticisms of me... and the continuing public controversy in its regard, I have decided to step down from this position and I hereby submit my resignation, to take immediate effect," Bishop O'Mahony wrote.
Pope Benedict has asked Cardinal Sean Brady and Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin to meet him in Rome on Friday to discuss the findings of the inquiry, known as the Murphy report.
The Pontiff has not commented publicly on the harrowing paedophilia or the subsequent devastating cover-ups by more senior clergymen.
Children's Minister Barry Andrews said he was not surprised pressure was being placed on Bishop Murray to resign and also expressed dismay at the lack of public response from Rome.
"The Catholic Church is the main focus of this report and the Catholic Church is led from Rome.
"Naturally we would expect there to be some reflections from Rome about what it means in terms of the delivery of safe practices for children in this country, in terms of the Catholic Church and how they are as patrons of our national schools, and how they're going to provide us with the reassurance that they have and will comply with best practice in child protection in the future."
Bishop O'Mahony was an auxiliary bishop of Dublin from 1975 to 1996.
He was aware of 13 abusive priests from the sample examined by the inquiry and a number of others and was criticised along with several other auxiliaries for mishandling abuse allegations.
Meanwhile, it is understood Bishop Murray arranged to tender his resignation in the Vatican after pressure mounted from within the hierarchy, including calls from Cardinal Brady for him to do the right thing.
His mishandling of child abuse cases in Dublin was in one case inexcusable, the inquiry found.
In a letter read out at weekend Masses across Limerick, Bishop Murray asked for people to pray for him over the coming days.
"Bishop Murray is acutely aware of the pain and anguish that has been experienced and expressed in the last week," the letter said.
"He is reflecting on the decision that he now has to make."
© Press Association