AS THE Bishop of Limerick, Donal Murray, announced yesterday that he would “be guided by the priests and people of the diocese” on whether he should resign, the city’s most senior politician has indicated that he should.
Speaking on RTÉ television's The Week in Politicsprogramme last night, Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea said of Bishop Murray that "he will make the appropriate decision".
Asked if he believed Bishop Murray should resign, Mr O’Dea said “I know Donal Murray personally and I have always had a very good relationship with him, and I find him a decent man. I must say that I am bitterly disappointed to read what I have read in the Murphy report.”
Programme presenter Seán O’Rourke asked “. . . that he behaved inexcusably?” The Minister replied, “Yes, I am bitterly disappointed to read that finding. I am sure Donal Murray, who is a person who would think deeply about these things, is examining his situation at the moment and he will make the appropriate decision.”
Speaking at Mass in St Joseph’s Church in Limerick yesterday, Bishop Murray said: “There have as you know been calls for me to resign. As far as I am concerned the question of whether I should resign is a question of whether my presence here is a help or a hindrance to the diocese of Limerick.”
He continued: “In that matter I will be guided by the priests and people of the diocese. We have many bodies that represent groups and areas in the diocese – the priests’ council, the parish pastoral councils, the diocesan pastoral council, the pastoral areas of the diocese and the diocesan child protection committee. They guide me and advise me. And they will be guided and advised by you in your parishes and areas.”
Meanwhile, Bishop John McAreavey of Dromore said yesterday that Bishop Murray had “serious questions to answer” in relation to the care and protection of children following publication of the Dublin diocesan report. Bishop McAreavey said he was sure Dr Murray would be reflecting on his position in light of strong criticism in the report, which found his response to one allegation of abuse in Dublin “inexcusable”.
Bishop McAreavey continued: “I’m sure that Bishop Murray is reflecting on that. I know that he has, to date, taken the view that he should remain but I think he will be thinking very seriously about that.”
Bishop McAreavey told BBC Radio Ulster's Sunday Sequenceprogramme that he would resign if he found himself in the position where his "ability to deal with these matters with credibility and integrity" was challenged.
Meanwhile, a second bishop named in the report is also coming under pressure. Bishop Jim Moriarty of Kildare and Leighlin diocese was an auxiliary bishop in Dublin from 1991 to 2002. In 1993 he received a complaint about Fr Edmondus concerning the priest’s contact with young children. This was the priest who abused Marie Collins in 1960 when she was a patient at Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin.
“No attempt was made by archdiocesan authorities to check the archives or other files relating to Fr Edmondus when these complaints were received,” the report said.
It continued: “Bishop Moriarty pointed out to the commission that he did not have access to the archives but he could have asked the archbishop to conduct a search.” This failure to check about other complaints “meant that the concerns were not taken as seriously as they should have been. There was no proper investigation of these concerns.”
In the letter from Bishop Moriarty read at all Masses in his diocese yesterday, there was no mention of his role in the report.
Ms Collins said last night that this was a typical example of the response by the church leadership since the report was published, which had made her “even more disillusioned with them, if that is possible”. They “seem incapable of straight answers”, she said.
