Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Sean Brady, the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland.
Cardinal Brady had turned 75 in August and according to Church law, bishops are asked to submit their resignations to the Pope at that stage.
The Pope can either accept or reject the resignation.
Cardinal Brady, who was primate of Ireland for 18 years, reportedly submitted his resignation in July.
His tenure was dogged by allegations of child abuse cover-ups, falling church attendance and strained relations with the Irish government.
Cardinal Brady publicly apologised for mishandling allegations of abuse after it emerged that in 1975 he was present at meetings with two teenagers who alleged they were sexually abused by Fr Brendan Smyth.
Instead of going to the authorities, the priests swore the alleged victims to secrecy, victims groups charged.
A BBC documentary in 2012 charged that Cardinal Brady had failed to ensure the safety of other victims.
In June, clerical abuse victim Marie Kane asked the Pope to remove Cardinal Brady from his post over the scandal.
This was on the same day that Francis held a Mass with adult victims.
Cardinal Brady has long maintained that he was just there to take the minutes of the meetings; as a young priest, he had no authority over Fr Smyth.
Cardinal Brady later said he was “shocked, appalled and outraged” to learn the Belfast priest went on to abuse others until the mid-1990s, when he was convicted of more than 100 charges of abuse.
Fr Smyth died in prison in 1997.
In his resignation statement, Cardinal Brady referred to the past abuse, saying he needed to apologise and to ask for forgiveness.
At the same time, he added, he must “trust in the mercy of God”.
On learning of Cardinal Brady’s resignation, another clerical abuse victim Marie Collins tweeted that she was unimpressed.
“If Cardinal Brady had resigned in 2010 when Brendan Smyth failures became known it might have meant something to survivors — meaningless now,” she tweeted.
Ms Collins is a member of the Pontifical Council for the Protection of Minors, established by Pope Francis.
Cardinal Brady is replaced in Armagh by Archbishop Eamon Martin, who was appointed co-adjutor there last year.
Sources