Two More Irish Bishops Resign; Meanwhile Cardinal Mahony Still in Office and the Vatican Does Nothing

Two more Catholic bishops in Ireland who were named for malfeasance in the Murphy Report on the Diocese of Dublin have resigned and pressure mounts further for a fifth bishop to resign. What is happening in Ireland remains a startling contrast from the USA where bishops and cardinals who enabled predator priests and then sought to cover up the reporting of abuse remain in office. A case in point in the USA is Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles who I will get to shortly. The other contrast is that elected officials in Ireland seem much more willing to call for resignations than spineless politicians in the USA who worry that they might look "anti-religion" merely for demanding that accessories to against minors be prosecuted or removed from office. First some developments via the Irish Times concerning the additional resignations in Ireland:

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Dublin's remaining two auxiliary bishops are to step down in the wake of the Murphy report into the handling of child abuse complaints in the Dublin Archdiocese. The resignations of Bishop Éamonn Walsh and Bishop Raymond Field were announced late last night, bringing to four the number of bishops who have stepped down over the report.
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Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin James Moriarty said on Wednesday that he had offered his resignation to Pope Benedict, which put further pressure on other serving bishops also mentioned in the report to do likewise. The fifth bishop, the Bishop of Galway Martin Drennan, has so far resisted calls for him to step down. Bishop of Limerick Donal Murray resigned earlier this month.

Dublin north central Labour councillor Aodhan O Riordain welcomed the statement. "The timing of the announcement is open to question, but the resignations are welcome nonetheless. It is now time for a full and frank debate about the relationship between the church and state institutions in Ireland, especially education. As a principal of a Catholic school, I feel we can hide from that debate no longer," he said.
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I sharp contrast to the bishops in Ireland who have resigned is Cardinal Mahony in Los Angeles. Here are some highlights via UPI.com:

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A senior Catholic official in Los Angeles has testified under immunity before a grand jury investigating sex abuse, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. A source told the newspaper Monsignor Richard Loomis, the former vicar of clergy for the archdiocese of Los Angeles, was granted use immunity. That means his testimony before a federal grand jury cannot be used to prosecute him. Loomis' responsibilities as vicar of clergy included overseeing cases involving priests accused of molesting children.
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Loomis gave a deposition in a civil case this year, saying Mahony told him in 2000 not to tell police about charges of sexual misconduct against a priest. The civil case involved the Rev. Michael Baker, who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and defrocked.

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Some members of the Church hierarchy like Mahony literally have no shame and refuse to do the right thing and resign. Meanwhile, Benedict XVI has lacked the decency to demand their resignation. Archbishop Martin of Dublin has been unique in his calls for bishops guilty of malfeasance and abuse cover ups to resign. Martin it would seem would make a far more honest and moral Pope than Papa Ratzi. Some believe that I am too harsh. I think not - especially when you consider this point brought up by Colm O'Gorman:

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So what has the response of the Vatican been to the Murphy Report? Well, the Pope has expressed his disgust and outrage at the content of the report. Mind you given the fact that he was responsible for the management of clerical child sexual abuse within the global church for the best part of two decades it can’t have been the detail of the abuse that “outraged” him, he must have been very familiar with that already. Perhaps it was the criticism of the institution that alarmed him? No doubt we will hear more in his upcoming pastoral letter to the Irish Church due sometime next year.

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If Benedict failed to act because John Paul II did not allow him to do so, he needs to say that such was the case publicly - and also stop the ridiculous effort to canonize John Paul II.