Child sex abuse by priests and religious was "one of the saddest proofs that the [Catholic] Church has of her own sinfulness", Dr Brady said. It was "a very serious betrayal of a sacred trust to serve others".

The victims had suffered immensely, and the hurt to family and parishioners was just beginning to be appreciated.

It had caused tremendous confusion, pain and anger, with many Catholics saying they now had less respect for the church.

The fact was the whole body of believers in the church felt wounded, and a smaller number said their own personal faith had been damaged by the scandals.

Representatives of the church, of the Hierarchy and religious superiors, had expressed shame and sorrow at what had happened and had apologised to all who had suffered. Now there was a greater awareness of the problem generally, he said.

A lot of this was, of course, thanks to the media, which had exposed the scandals. There was a perception, however, that some reports covering priests and religious were sensationalised.

And even though those accused of child sex abuse came from all strata of society, the impression given was that more clergy and religious were involved, which was not true.

He acknowledged that the media focus on priests and religious could also be related to the high social standing they held and was an indication of that standing.

The church had pledged to do all it could to heal the hurt caused and repair the harm. And although the gravity of the issue might not have been recognised for sometime, that did not take away from the terrible effects.

The great concern of victims often was just to have their story heard, to be believed, to have their hurt acknowledged and to receive an apology which was sincere and contrite.

Compensation was generally not a priority, although the church would meet all its responsibilities in that area when determined, and counselling was being provided without prejudice. he said.

Other factors contributing to the dramatic decline in church attendance here over recent years included growing secularism, the absence of God from the public sphere, the relaxation of props such as social pressure, change in family structures, and a cynicism about all institutions including the church, he said.

Further, Christianity had a robust ethic to follow which some found too demanding.

Some then could not reconcile suffering in the world with God and others had just been dealt a bad hand by life. It was significant that among those least likely to practise were the young male urban unemployed.

But decline in religious practice did not free people from despair, he said, and he noted the increase in suicide levels, which indicated greater despair and less solidarity with the poor in body and spirit.

But in Ireland he believed there were great resources of faith, and that the quality of faith among those practising was higher than ever before.

If people stopped practising that did not mean they stopped believing, he said. What was in decline was "an institutional faith", a "social faith", with an increase in the numbers of "lapsed atheists".

In future, the church would have to be more discriminating with its resources. Running schools and hospitals was not essential. The church "exists to enable people find Christ and to have Him walk alongside them in the journey of life", he said.

But with fewer priests and religious there would be more of a role for the laity, of that he was convinced. The church "cannot continue to minister in the loner style, with the priest doing everything", he said. Many people who had a good faith formation wanted to play a part.