THE Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe, the Right Rev Edward Darling, has expressed dismay at an editorial in the Church of Ireland Gazette which partly criticised the Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh, for his recent statement on "interchurch marriages".
Bishop Darling, in his presidential address to the Diocesan Synod, said: "For us in the Church of Ireland, his (Bishop Walsh) comments were not only welcome but heartening and encouraging. I would want him to know how much I personally appreciate his courage in very obviously wanting to establish better relationships with Christians of traditions other than his own.
"In nailing his colours to the mast in the way he did, he was risking criticism and opposition from many within his own communion, but he was being frank and honest and his overtures have, I know, been widely appreciated."
Bishop Darling continued: "It caused me a certain amount of dismay, therefore, that the leader in the current issue of the Church of Ireland Gazette, while praising him and welcoming what he said, should have accused him of naivety and suggested that his remarks imply `that the inter church marriage is a thing of the past'."
Dr Walsh, he said, made no such assumption. "Indeed, if what the editorial is claiming is true, would the bishop and I be jointly working on a document and policy for our respective dioceses whereby we might be able to exercise a common approach in dealing with the difficulties that can occur over interchurch marriages?
"In wanting to share such difficulties with me, can we take seriously the Gazette's statement that the bishop's wording `takes no account of the reality or the sensitivity' of the interchurch marriage situation?"
Bishop Darling said Dr Walsh had accepted his invitation to speak on that subject in September.
"For years we'd been hoping for someone from the Roman Catholic Church to give us some encouragement and assurance and then, when somebody like Bishop Willie speaks out, our own Church of Ireland Gazette has to point out that there is still a long way to go and that difficulties still exist.
"Of course we have a long way to go and difficulties exist and the bishop is all too aware of this. Therefore, I would have to say that I do not find the Gazette's leading article helpful or timely to us in our situation.
Speaking on Northern Ireland, the bishop said: "Things are much more delicate and even sinister. We are praying that the next few weeks will pass off without incidents of violence and suffering."
He commended what he called the courage of the parish priest of Harryville church in Ballymena for deciding to discontinue the Saturday evening Masses until further notice.