More Irish bishops 'must quit'
 The Catholic church in Ireland has been rocked by the abuse scandal |
The remaining Irish bishops named in a report which exposed how Catholic leaders concealed child abuse must resign, a victims group has said.
On Wednesday the Bishop of Kildare said he would stand down, which came after the resignation of the Bishop of Limerick.
Maeve Lewis, chief executive of the One in Four group, said the resignations of three more bishops are "inevitable."
She said they should go quickly to avoid more damage to abuse survivors.
The Murphy report into abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese found that members of the church hierarchy were often more concerned with the reputation of the church than protecting children.
The other senior clerics facing calls to stand down include:
• Martin Drennan - Auxiliary Bishop in Dublin from 1997 to 2005 and currently Bishop of Galway. After the report was published Bishop Drennan said he was comfortable with the findings as it "says nothing negative about me".
• Eamonn Walsh - Auxiliary Bishop in Dublin since 1990. Before that, he was secretary to the Archbishop of Dublin from 1985 and held key positions in the archdiocese for much of the period covered by the Murphy report.
• Ray Field, a qualified barrister and Auxiliary Bishop in Dublin since 1997. He was found not to have fully informed a parish priest about abuse concerns surrounding a colleague.
Power
Ms Lewis said it was "immensely distressing and insulting" to survivors to be forced to listen as "one bishop after another justifies his position and attempts to hold on to power until he is shamed into resigning".
Marie Collins, who was abused by one of the priests named in the Murphy report, said it was not good enough for the bishops to say they not been criticised for personally mishandling a case.
"The point was they were managing the diocese, they were in positions of power in the diocese and they did nothing to stop what was going on.
"Doing nothing was every bit as bad as mishandling something personally."
Meanwhile, the Irish Times has reported conflict between Bishop Eamonn Walsh and the current Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin.
Bishop Walsh has sent a letter to priests stating Archbishop Martin had expressed full confidence in his auxiliary bishops following the Murphy report.
However, a spokeswoman for the Archbishop has made it clear that he is still evaluating the report and has not expressed unconditional support for anyone.
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Bishop Donal Murray resignation: Q&A
Irish priest Dr Donal Murray has resigned as Bishop of Limerick.
BBC News Online examines how he came under increasing pressure in recent weeks for the way he dealt with a paedophile priest during his time as an auxiliary bishop in Dublin.
WHO IS HE?
 Dr Donal Murray has resigned as Bishop of Limerick |
Donal Murray was born in Dublin in 1940. He was ordained in 1966, having gained a doctorate in theology.
After an academic career which included lecturing in University College Dublin on Catechetics and medical ethics, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin in 1982.
At that time, he was the youngest member of the Irish Catholic hierarchy.
He was installed as Bishop of Limerick in March 1996.
WHY HAS HE RESIGNED?
A damning report into child abuse by priests in the Dublin archdiocese from 1975 to 2004 criticised the Catholic Church hierarchy there for a cover up.
The Report of the Commission of Investigation into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin, known as the Murphy report, laid bare a culture of concealment where church leaders prioritised the protection of their own institution above that of vulnerable children in their care.
 Fr Tom Naughton was behind a litany of sex abuse |
It found that during Dr Murray's time as an auxiliary bishop in Dublin from 1982 to 1996, he handled a number of complaints badly.
The report described his failure to investigate one allegation as "inexcusable".
For example, he did not deal properly with the suspicions and concerns that were expressed to him in relation to one priest, Fr Tom Naughton.
When, a short time later, factual evidence of Naughton's abusing emerged in another parish, it found Dr Murray's failure to reinvestigate the earlier suspicions was "inexcusable".
Parents who complained to Dr Murray about Naughton said he dismissed their concerns.
In May 1998, Naughton pleaded guilty to six counts of indecent assault on three boys. He was jailed for three years, reduced on appeal by six months.
On Wednesday, Naughton, now aged 78, was jailed for three years for abusing an altar boy between 1982 and 1984 in the parish of Valleymount in County Wicklow.
The judge said the "premeditated" abuse was "shocking and horrific". He said Naughton had taken advantage of his position of trust.
WHAT HAVE THOSE INVOLVED IN THE CASE BEEN SAYING?
Mervyn Rundle, who was abused by Naughton, has called for a criminal investigation into Dr Murray's response to the abuse allegations at the time.
"When are the guards (Irish police) going to act against these guys?" he told the Irish Times.
Retired Garda sergeant John Brennan, who sought to have Naughton removed from Valleymount in 1984 following complaints by parents, told the paper: "It was (Naughton's) superiors who, aware of this weakness, sent him around to other places, and I think they shouldn't be allowed at this stage to resign or retire.
"They should be the subject of a criminal investigation. If there is neglect and evidence of a cover-up, it shouldn't be a question of somebody resigning. They should be the subject of a criminal charge."
WHAT HAVE HIS COLLEAGUES BEEN SAYING?
A former doctoral student of Pope Benedict, Father Vincent Twomey, said it was a "scandal" that bishops criticised in the Murphy report had not resigned sooner.
 Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin discussed the report with the Pope |
Speaking on Sunday, the theologian, who is still close to the Pope, said delays in resignations were causing damage to the church.
Catholic Primate of all-Ireland Cardinal Sean Brady had stopped short of saying that Dr Murray should resign.
"Bishop Donal Murray has been in contact with me, as you know he is considering his position and hopes to be in a position to comment soon and I'm confident Bishop Donal will do the right thing," he said.
Current Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, told RTE: "If I am unhappy with answers... I don't want to be sitting at meetings with people who have not responded to a very serious situation.
"Everyone should stand up and take responsibility for what they did."
He has said that both Cardinal Brady and he were strongly convinced that the Irish Catholic hierarchy needs to re-establish strong leadership.
Bishop of Dromore John McAreavey said he believed Dr Murray had "serious questions to answer", adding that he believed he would resign if faced with a similar challenge to his "ability to deal with these matters with credibility and integrity".
However, Bishop Willie Walsh of Killaloe argued that calls for Dr Murray to resign were based on a misreading of the Murphy report and that a "public trial" was taking place, motivated by the desire by some to get "a head on a plate".
WHAT HAS DR MURRAY SAID FOLLOWING THE REPORT'S PUBLICATION?
Dr Murray said he was "acutely aware of the pain and anguish" experienced since the report was published and had begun engaging with the people and priests of his diocese about whether his ministry was a "hindrance or help".
In a letter read out during Masses on the weekend of 28/29 November, he said: "As I look back on that time, I ask myself many questions, especially about the three cases in which the report criticises me.
"At no time did I, as an auxiliary bishop of Dublin, receive an allegation of sexual abuse and fail to act.
"When an allegation of sexual abuse of children by a priest was brought to my attention, I responded promptly and conscientiously and in each case notified the Archbishop and Diocesan authorities and co-operated fully with them.
"I never deliberately or knowingly sought to cover up or withhold information brought to my attention.
"There were, as the report notes, occasions when roles/responsibilities were not clear or where I did not have full information concerning cases in which I was asked to become involved."
IS THE RESIGNATION OF A BISHOP UNPRECEDENTED?
In March, Bishop John Magee, the Newry, County Down-born Catholic Bishop of Cloyne, "stepped aside".
 Dr John Magee stepped aside as Bishop of Cloyne in March |
Dr Magee faced many calls for resignation for failing to properly address allegations of clerical sex abuse within his County Cork diocese.
Technically, it was not a resignation, although in previous high-profile episcopal departures, there has been no doubt that a resignation was offered to the Pope.
Eamonn Casey resigned as Bishop of Galway in 1992 after an affair with an American divorcee, and Brendan Comiskey, then Bishop of Ferns, presented his resignation to the Vatican in 2002 following claims that he had mishandled allegations of child abuse by Fr Sean Fortune.
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More Info
To read about the investigation by the Police in Dublin, click here. Source Here.
1.10 The Commission examined complaints in respect of over 320 children against the 46 priests in the representative sample. Substantially more of the complaints relate to boys – the ratio is 2.3 boys to 1 girl.
1.11 Of the 46 priests examined, 11 pleaded guilty to or were convicted in the criminal courts of sexual assaults on children.
1.12 There is one clear case of a false accusation of child sexual abuse – Fr Ricardus*1 (see Chapter 55). There are two cases where there were suspicions or concerns but no actual complaint of child sexual abuse – Fr Guido* (see Chapter 51) and Fr Magnus* (see Chapter 49).
The priests – where they are now
1.13 Of the 46 priests in the representative sample, 11 are or were members of religious orders. Four of these are dead; four are living within their orders with restrictions on their ministry and activities; two are living within their orders without restrictions and one has become estranged from his order and is living without restriction in another diocese. One priest belongs to a UK diocese and his whereabouts are unknown. Of the 34 priests from the Dublin Archdiocese, ten are dead, 20 are out of ministry and four are in ministry. Of the 20 who are out of ministry, 11 are being financially supported by the Archdiocese and are living under restrictions imposed by Archbishop Martin; nine are laicised.
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Commentary:
The honest truth is this: the belief that people can go their whole lives without a spouse and stay sexually inactive, is a joke and a fallacy of thought.
Celibacy can't even be called historical and from Divine thought because it's not concretely.
2 Facts that prove this:
- 1) Catholics believe Peter was the first pope. This is undisputed, take it up with the pope or your priest if you didn't know this.
- 2) Catholics claim Peter was Celibate. This is not the truth according to the following verse:
- Matthey 8:14: "And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever."
So the first pope was married?
Just show me where in Christianity it says people must be Celibate. The best it says is Celibacy is a gift that is given to certain people and should be honored by them; for those who don't have the gift, get married.
If the best Christians in the world never get married, and never have kids, that only leaves worse and worse Christians with worse and worse thoughts and ideas and perversions to remain.
Celibacy is a joke and is not Divine tradition as people would have you believe. Open up the good book and see for yourself. These scandals are a result of a bad tradition and a corruption of the true Christian beliefs Jesus stood for.
At best mandated Celibacy was ordained by the Catholic church, for whatever purposes they used it for, and it is nothing more than a MAN MADE tradition, not a DIVINE mandate.
The effects of this tradition have been seen here today. Celibacy is therefore immoral and leads to child abuse; something that no religion can condone or stand for. Thus Celibacy should be removed from the Catholic church as a mandate at the very least. Mandated Celibacy is wrong.
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