Catholic archbishops join Easter apology for child abuse scandal

The leader of Roman Catholics in England and Wales, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, said "serious sins" had been committed, while the Irish Church's leader Cardinal Sean Brady – who has faced resignation calls over the issue – said there was no longer a "hiding place for abusers in the church".

At St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh the head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, apologised to abuse victims, saying: "Crimes against children have indeed been committed, and any Catholics who were aware of such crimes and did not act to report them brings shame on us all."

During his Easter sermon, Archbishop Nichols told worshippers at Westminster Cathedral that to appreciate the Easter message, "we have to begin with our own sin and shame".

He said: "In recent weeks the serious sins committed within the Catholic community have been much talked about.

"For our part, we have been reflecting on them deeply, acknowledging our guilt and our need for forgiveness."

Meanwhile the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, who had provoked a storm after he said in an interview that Ireland's Catholic Church was losing all credibility, backtracked from his previous remarks.

Dr Williams, leader of the Anglican Communion, said yesterday he was "sorry" for adding to the difficulties being faced by Irish bishops. He did not refer to the child abuse issue in his own Easter sermon.

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, also chose not to focus on the abuse scandal in his Easter message, instead using his sermon to express regret that many children thought Easter was to celebrate the birthday of the Easter Bunny.

Speaking yesterday at York Minster, Dr Sentamu said Christianity needed to reconnect with its original message of life, forgiveness, reconciliation and hope.

He said: "What we need is not more doctrines and arguments about dogma, but to live our lives in that free and transformed community, drawing others into the light of the reality that Jesus who died, is risen and is alive with us.

"Then we will not get the kind of statistics among our children which I read recently, which showed that 53 per cent of children were unaware of the religious significance of Easter and indeed 30 per cent thought it was to celebrate the birthday of the Easter Bunny.

"It is deeply sad that millions of children don't know the great news of the true meaning of Easter.

"There are many people in our society today, young and old alike, who are searching for meaning and a realistic spirituality that will bring them inner peace, as well as a fresh way of relating to the world and particularly to God. I meet a lot of people who want to stop the world and get off.

"Some are filled with despair for our troubled world and, sadly, all they see around them is the hypocrisy of competitive, well-ordered society where materialism and signs of wealth have become all-important."

At the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI made no mention of the abuse accusations which have rocked the Church.

And in front of the faithful in St Peter's Square, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, defended the Pontiff against the "petty gossip of the moment".

Pressure has been mounting on the Catholic Church since a bombshell report in November which detailed decades of child abuse in Ireland and found paedophile priests were shielded by peers and officials.