Senior Irish Catholican Protestant clergymen
have criticized the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion
for saying that Catholic Church in Ireland
had lost all credibility over the child abuse scandal.
The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin
said he was stunned and disheartened by the Archbishop of
Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams' first comment on the crisis.
Robert Prigott reports.
Even Pope Benedict has accepted
 that the Catholic Church in Ireland has lost moral authority,
saying in his pastoral letter last month
that its bishops had lost their effectiveness
because of the way they handled the sexual abuse.
But criticism from the leader of another church
proved too much.
Dr.Williams has spoken of the colossal trauma
caused by the scandal.
But they were words Dr.Williams' quickly regretted
and he phoned the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin
to express his deep sorrow at the difficulties his remarks had caused.