A man attempted to attack the Bishop of Kerry, Dr. Bill Murphy, during an angry confrontation at Mass in St. Mary's Cathedral in Killarney on Sunday.

The man, a former resident of an orphanage in the town where many children were abused, had to be dragged away from the Bishop at the Mass — during which the Papal letter apologizing for child abuse by priests had been read to the congregation.

The man screamed "Apologize!" at Murphy, who has not been mentioned in any abuse report to date.

He was restrained by six members of the congregation, who dragged him out of the church.

Police later arrived and questioned the man, but did not arrest him.

The incident comes at a time when tension is high between victims of abuse and the leadership of the Catholic Church in Ireland.

Many victims groups believe the Church is still covering up abuse cases and are unhappy that the Pope did not call for criminal charges against Bishops who helped in cover-ups in the past.

Four bishops have resigned in the past year amid allegations of covering up child abuse cases.