If it wasn't for the laity, the abuse scandal would still not be public. The Catholic people of Ireland dragged the truth out of the Bishops. 

One of the most damaging events was fairly recent when their Cardinal was found to have been involved, as a younger priest, in the silencing of victims, making them sign papers in which they promised to be silent and never reveal what happened to them. When this came to light there were calls for him to resign immediately.

He responded by saying that he would spend the time between Easter and Pentecost in quiet reflection to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit on whether he should resign or not. Pentecost came and, lo and behold, the Holy Spirit had discerned the the 'good' Cardinal should stay on. Quelle surprise!

That was the last straw for a lot of Irish Catholics.