The pope has rejected the resignations of two Irish bishops after their diocese was severely criticised in a report into child abuse in Dublin. The Vatican said Pope Benedict XVI had not accepted the resignations of Bishops Raymond Field and Eamonn Walsh, who served as bishops in the Dublin diocese during the period investigated by the Murphy commission.
The two auxiliary bishops had offered their resignations on Christmas Eve 2009, in the wake of the Murphy report.
The pair, who are to be given revised responsibilities within the diocese, had initially resisted calls to quit.
