I recognise and share the confusion, the bewilderment, the shame, felt by so many people at present

Dr Patrick Walsh

An independent audit by lay people who are experts in child protection and legislation will also be carried out in all Irish dioceses.

Dr Patrick Walsh said a "vital part" of the healing process was to establish the truth about how complaints were dealt with by the church.

He added: "We are all too aware of the pain and the deep scars caused to those, who as children, have suffered any form of sexual abuse, especially when this has been carried out by those priests or religious who have grievously betrayed a position of trust.

"Recent events in Ireland, and indeed in other countries, have heightened that sense of awareness."

The bishop said the protection of children was of paramount importance.

Dr Patrick Walsh: Pastoral letter

"I recognise and share the confusion, the bewilderment, the shame, felt by so many people at present," he said.

"While this is a painful time for all of us - lay people, priests, religious and bishops alike - first and foremost we must acknowledge that it is the victims who have suffered and continue to suffer the greatest pain."

Another pastoral letter issued by the Archbishop of Dublin, Cardinal Desmond Connell, has spoken of the "evil of child sex abuse by priests".

The cardinal said he was deeply aware of the damage it was causing the Catholic church, and said the church would take whatever further action was necessary.

Cardinal Desmond Connell: Written letter

Last weekend, about 150 people took part in a protest in Dublin to call for the resignation of Cardinal Connell.

The bishop was celebrating a Mass to mark the birth of the founder of the Christian Brothers religious order in Ireland.

Many of the protesters said they had been abused by Christian Brothers.

The Christian Brothers have had a strong link with Irish education for more than 60 years and ran many schools in the Irish Republic and some in Northern Ireland.

Last Monday, an emergency meeting was held at Maynooth when the church revealed it was establishing its own inquiry into how it dealt with such complaints.

The church's 30 bishops in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland met to discuss their contribution to the Irish Government's inquiry into alleged abuse by priests, which is to be led by an Irish lawyer.

Bishop Brendan Comiskey admitted he had not protected children

On Wednesday, the Auxiliary Bishop of Down and Connor, Bishop Donal McKeown, said guidelines would be reviewed.

The latest controversy followed allegations that Father Sean Fortune - a Catholic priest who committed suicide three years ago - sexually abused children.

Last weekend, the Pope accepted the resignation of Dr Brendan Comiskey, the Bishop of Ferns in County Wexford, following criticism of how he handled the case of Father Fortune.

Dr Comiskey admitted he had not done enough to protect children in his County Wexford diocese.

The Ferns case has triggered fresh claims of clerical sex abuse incidents and a flood of anger in overwhelmingly Catholic Ireland, where the church's image has been severely damaged by a string of scandals in the last decade.

Pressure on the Catholic Church has also increased elsewhere in recent months, with a number of abuse allegations in the United States culminating in legal action against some of the most senior figures in the Church's hierarchy.