Survivors of clerical child sex abuse have reacted angrily to the news that Pope Benedict has rejected the resignation of two Dublin auxiliary bishops criticised in the Murphy Report.
Clerical abuse survivor Andrew Madden said he was not surprised to hear the resignations had not been accepted by the Vatican.
"Since the Murphy Report was published, the Catholic Church in Ireland and at Vatican level has failed to take responsibility for the findings of that report, in particular the finding that sexual abuse of children by priests was covered up by archbishops and bishops for decades," said Mr Madden.
"Pope Benedict and Cardinal Brady both failed to protect children from priests they knew to be abusers and in both cases those priests went on to abuse more children – in that context today’s announcement should come as no surprise to anyone," he added.
John Kelly, co-ordinator of the support group Survivors of Child Abuse (Soca) said he was "astonished" by the news.
"So much was expected of the pontiff and so little was delivered especially as in the pastoral letter to the Irish people the Pope said that priests and bishops needed to surrender themselves to the demands of justice. Here were two of many who did surrender themselves and been refused. That sends out a signal that there is to be no change, no closure for victims and no accountability."
"We expected the pontiff to be proactive and to bring the church into the 21st century. Instead he's relying on tactics that belong to the 17th century."
"There's a cancer within the church and the Pope knows it. That cancer needs to be eradicated and Pope Benedict is the only one who can remove it and he is refusing to do it," he added.
Deirdre Kenny, advocacy officer with One in Four described the pope's decision as "extraordinary."
When the two bishops offered their resignations they said that they hoped their action would bring peace and reconciliation to the victims of clerical abuse but that has now been undone by the Pope's refusal to accept their resignation," she said.
"The decision raises questions about the Vatican's attitude around accountability and once again leaves abuse survivors feeling that the church does not understand the damage that has been caused.
Ellen O'Malley-Dunlop, chief executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre questioned why it was that the resignations had been rejected when others had been accepted.
"What we are hearing from victims is that they are extremely disappointed. Many of them had put a lot of store in the resignations because they felt it was appropriate and to hear now that they have not been accepted is very upsetting."
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said that by rejecting the bishops' resignations, the pope was "rubbing salt into the wounds of abuse victims".
"He's sending an alarming message to church employees across the globe: even widespread documentation of the concealing of child sex crimes and the coddling of criminals won't cost you your job in the church," said Barbara Blaine, the organisation's president and founder.
"The two bishops said, when announcing their resignation, that they hoped to bring peace and reconciliation to the victims. The pope's callous decision has done the opposite," she added.
