The newly-appointed bishop of Cloyne, Ireland, vowed he will make healing the lives of victims of abuse in the diocese a priority.

Pope Benedict has appointed Father William Crean, 60, to lead the diocese.

Cloyne has been without a bishop since Bishop John Magee resigned in 2010 after a government inquiry reported that he covered up allegations of abuse against priests in his diocese.

Crean said he is apprehensive about his appointment “ because I am deeply conscious of the trauma of these years past – so much suffering endured by young people at the hands of a few – sufferings compounded by the failure of those who didn’t believe them and those who didn’t hear their cry for help.”