Connell stands down as Archbishop of Dublin

The Vatican announced today Pope John Paul II has formally accepted the resignation of Cardinal Desmond Connell as Archbishop of Dublin.

Cardinal Desmond Connell

Dr Connell had tendered his resignation to the Pope on his 75th birthday in March 2001. He will be succeeded by the Coadjutor Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin (59), who was appointed in May 2003.

Dr Connell said today was a "happy day for me and for the priests and people of the diocese as the Holy Father, in his wisdom, has chosen one so highly gifted and experienced to assume pastoral responsibility for well over one million Catholics in the archdiocese."

Archbishop Martin said: "It is a day for all of us to recognise the years of service of Cardinal Connell to the Church in Dublin and beyond. The priests and people of Dublin thank him and will accompany him in the coming years with their prayers and affection."

Dr Connell has been under pressure to resign since the RTÉ Prime Timedocumentary of October 2002 that exposed clerical sexual abuse in the Dublin Archdicocese.

According to the programme, the Archdiocese was facing 450 legal actions as a result of abuse allegations. The programme detailed accounts of cases of abuse by eight priests. At least six bishops became aware of these cases. It also claimed that a paedophile ring was operating within the Dublin clergy, and that the Church hierarchy was aware of its existence.

The Cardinal released a statement following the programme in which he accepted the victims of sexual abuse by the clergy had suffered a "terrible betrayal". However, he was accused over the following months of hindering the inquiry into child abuse.

Dr Connell again asked for forgiveness over his handling of the scandal during his last Holy Thursday Homily at St Mary's Pro-Cathedral. He asked pardon "of all whom I have offended" in the past, particularly "those who suffered unspeakable abuse by priests of the diocese and experienced a lack of the care that ought to have been provided".

He also said he was hopeful that steps taken by the Catholic Church in the wake of the scandal will ensure there is no repetition.

Judge Mary Laffoy, who resigned in acrimonious circumstances last year as head of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, accused the Catholic Church of adopting a "confrontational" stance to allegations of abuse and of blocking her work.

The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, is to establish a committee of inquiry into sex abuse by Dublin clergy later this year. Dr Connell is expected to be among the first to testify at the private hearings.

Dr Connell has served as Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland since 1988. He was made a Cardinal in February 2001.

The Archdiocese of Dublin has an estimated Catholic population of 1,087,285 in 200 parishes and includes the City and County of Dublin, nearly all of CoWicklow, and portions of counties Kildare, Carlow, Wexford and Laois.