The diocesan secretary for the Diocese of Ferns, Fr John Carroll, said the decision to invite the former Bishop of Ferns, Brendan Comiskey, back to Wexford had been taken by Bishop Denis Brennan following consultation with "the vicars of the diocese".
The bishop had concluded "it was an opportune occasion" to allow Dr Comiskey to "say a word of gratitude and farewell" to the local clergy as there had been "a touch of unfinished business" about his resignation and departure from Wexford.
Last weekend's visit by Dr Comiskey, has reignited the debate about his handling of the clerical child sexual abuse scandal in the diocese. Dr Comiskey attended an annual reception for serving and retired clergy last Friday at the episcopal residence, Bishop's House, at Summerhill in Wexford town.
Callers to South East Radio yesterday continued to express disapproval and disappointment in relation to the visit.
Ellen Lynch, head of news with the station and presenter of the Straight Talk morning programme, said the station had been contacted by "a couple of dozen" listeners expressing anger about the visit.
She described listener reaction as "significant" and said it "demonstrates that the hurt over what happened is still very raw here".
A "few" callers expressed approval for Dr Comiskey's visit.
Earlier this month, the Diocese of Ferns revealed that it faced compensation costs amounting to about €10 million arising from clerical child sexual abuse cases.
Dr Brennan told the diocesan finance annual general meeting in Enniscorthy that 29 claims had already been settled at a cost of €4.7 million, including legal fees. The cost of settlements ranged from €55,000 to €300,000. Insurance provided just over €1 million while a contribution from the church's national "stewardship fund" provided €3.2 million.
The diocese contributed just €337,402 and the "offenders" paid €105,000.
Separately, the diocese has spent €760,000 on "the treatment, assessment and monitoring of offenders" which was financed by bank borrowings.
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