Brendan Comiskey, who resigned following claims he failed to deal properly with child sexual abuse allegations, died on Monday aged 89.

The Sinn Fein vice president has cut short a family holiday to attend Pope Francis’s funeral in Rome.

Patrick and Alice Gavigan, from Leixlip, Co Kildare, are on holiday in Rome and said the experience felt surreal.

The former taoiseach met Francis during his visit to Ireland in 2018.

Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin said the 2018 visit was ‘overshadowed by the story of abuse’.

Father Tim Bartlett helped organise Francis’s visit to the island in 2018

The group said he does not speak for Irish people or Catholics, and that he "confuses personal opinions with truth"

Simon Harris also did not rule out the compulsory purchase of assets held by the religious organisations to fund redress.

The group wants victims’ voices “front and centre at all times.

The Catholic Church and Church of Ireland both expressed sadness at the passing of the former Catholic Bishop of Down and Connor.

His niece, Patricia Donovan, claims he first raped her at the age of five and that the sexual abuse continued for years.  

Pope Francis has announced a number of significant changes to the Catholic dioceses in Connacht

The Catholic Primate of Ireland has been criticised over comments he made about Safe Access Zones for women seeking terminations

Issues around moving the Pro-Cathedral from north to south of the River Liffey continued to be worked upon following an announcement six months ago that Archbishop Dermot Farrell proposed a change despite opposition to the move

Police are appealing for information and witnesses following the report of criminal damage at the side door of Our Lady and St Patrick’s Catholic Church.

In a shared statement church leaders said the visit is taking place at a time of ‘great concern for the state of our fragile peace’.