The Vatican on Monday recalled its envoy to Ireland to formulate an official response to a damning report on the Catholic Church's handling of child abuse by priests that sparked government outrage.

"Apostolic Nuncio Giuseppe Leanza has been recalled for consultations" after the publication of the judicial report into abuses in an Irish diocese "and in particular due to the reactions to it," the Vatican said in a statement.

Vatican spokesman Ciro Benedittini said the recall was a first step towards coming up with an official response but added that the Vatican was "slightly surprised and disappointed at some of the excessive reactions" to the report.

Irish Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore, who summoned Leanza to urgent talks earlier this month, said the recall was "a matter for the Holy See," but said Dublin was still awaiting the Vatican's response to the report.

The minister said in a statement that it was to be "expected that the Vatican would wish to consult in depth with the nuncio on its response."

The publication of the report into more than a decade of sex abuse by priests in the diocese of Cloyne in southern Ireland triggered a blistering attack on the Vatican by Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny that was widely welcomed.

The Cloyne case is only the latest in a series of abuse scandals for the Catholic Church in Ireland that were first exposed in a 2009 report detailing hundreds of cases of sexual abuse of children by priests going back decades.

Pope Benedict XVI last year wrote a letter to Irish Catholics expressing shame and remorse for the abuse of children by priests and the Vatican has strengthened rules against abuse after a wave of scandals across Europe and the United States.

But campaigners say the Catholic Church has not gone nearly far enough and has failed to punish bishops responsible for covering up for abusive priests.

In language never before used by an Irish leader, an outraged Kenny told parliament this month that the Church's inability to deal with the cases showed a culture of "dysfunction, disconnection, elitism and narcissism" at the Vatican.

Kenny, who became Taoiseach, or prime minister, after elections in February, slammed the Catholic Church's behaviour as "absolutely disgraceful."

The Cloyne report condemned the Church's handling of abuse claims against 19 clerics in Cloyne between 1996 and 2009, saying it was "inadequate and inappropriate".

The Vatican said last week that it would respond to the report at "an appropriate moment" and appealed for "objectivity".

On Monday, Vatican spokesman Benedettini said the recall of the papal envoy to Ireland underlined the "gravity" of the situation.

"The recall of the nuncio -- a measure rarely used by the Holy See -- denotes the gravity of the situation and the willingness of the Holy See to confront it with objectivity and determination," he said.

He added however that the Vatican was "slightly surprised and disappointed at some of the excessive reactions" to the report.

"The recall of the nuncio should be interpreted as a wish of the Holy See to establish serious and effective cooperation," he added.

Kenny returned to the theme of his parliament speech on Sunday when giving a lecture at a political summer school, receiving a standing ovation.

"The fact that I have had thousands of messages from around the world speaks for itself about the impact and the way people feel," he said.

The prime minister also said he had been surprised at the number of priests who supported his speaking out against the Vatican.

"The numbers of members of the clergy who have been in touch in the last few days, to say it is about time somebody spoke out about these matters in a situation like you are, has astounded me.

"I haven’t made any other comment except to say that we await the response from the Vatican."

Father Michael Collins, a Dublin priest and author of a book on pope John Paul II, said the meaning of the nuncio's recall was unclear.

"We don't know if he actually been recalled just for consultations or recalled, which means his appointment here is finished," he told RTE public radio.

But Collins said he expected the Vatican to be taking Kenny's criticisms "very, very seriously".

Vatican expert Andrea Tornielli from conservative Italian daily La Stampa defended the Holy See against what he called Kenny's "gratuitous accusations".

"The Holy See is preparing an adequate response to the gratuitous accusations from Kenny, which have been judged as unfounded even by Irish observers who are certainly not tender on the Catholic Church," he said.