Sir, – The former bishop of Derry Edward Daly hopes that “senior members of the clergy and laity make their views more forcefully known” on their opposition to compulsory clerical celibacy in the Catholic Church (Home News, September 14th).
I don’t remember ever reading or hearing Dr Daly making such a call while in active ministry as a bishop. It seems that senior Catholic clergymen, such as Bishop Daly, have to await retirement before they can voice opposition to current canonical practices such as compulsory clerical celibacy and the ordination of women.
Recently, the bishop of Toowoomba, in Queensland, Australia, William Morris, was removed from his ministry by Pope Benedict for having the courage to state similar views and he did not receive support from his fellow bishops around the world. Judging from the subservient posturing of the Irish bishops at their last audience with Pope Benedict, there is every likelihood that Dr Daly’s call for courageous outspokenness by senior clergy in Ireland will fall on deaf ears. – Yours, etc,