Why does he need to apologise....here are the details:

The Archbishop of Canterbury tonight expressed his “deep sorrow and regret” after declaring the Catholic Church in Ireland had lost all credibility over the child abuse scandal.

Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, who said he had been stunned by the remark, stated Dr Rowan Williams rang him stressing he did not mean to offend or criticise the Irish Church.

Speaking on the BBC about the crisis gripping the Irish Catholic Church, Dr Williams said the sex abuse revelations had been a “colossal trauma” for Ireland in particular, sparking condemnation from Archbishop Martin and senior Irish Protestant clergymen.

If only the bishops could apologies sincerely. Faith in the Catholic church is on a knife edge in Ireland. They should be asking what they can do to restore faith, instead of closing ranks.

I agree 100% with Michael, the bishops closing rank is the worse action they can take.