Bishop Éamonn Casey will return to Ireland within a week but is not likely to assume residence at his Co Galway home for sometime yet, the Bishop of Galway Dr Martin Drennan indicated yesterday.
Whether Bishop Casey "does or does not make an apology was a matter for him, not me" though some thought a statement might be appropriate, Dr Drennan also said.
Bishop Drennan hoped "for a quiet homecoming" and planned to say Mass in Shanaglish Church at Beagh in south Galway with Bishop Casey shortly after he had taken up residence there.
Dr Drennan said the response in Galway to Bishop Casey's return had been "very positive." People in Galway had "always been positive" on the matter.
They "wanted closure" believing that after so much time, "forgiveness must come into this after all that has happened. Time has moved on. There were a few exceptions, but by and large the response [ to news of the homecoming] had been very positive," he said. "We are at our best when we are a forgiving people."
Informed sources confirmed last night that Bishop Casey would return to Ireland for good over the coming weekend. It is believed he will stay with relatives pending the outcome of a Garda investigation into allegations of child sex abuse made against him last November.
To date it is understood he has not been spoken to by gardaí in connection with the allegations.
The middle-aged woman who made the allegations claimed the abuse took place more than three decades ago in Ireland. She has made similar unproven allegations against others in the past.
Bishop Casey has vigorously denied the allegations and had said he would not return to Ireland until formally notified by civil and church authorities that he had been cleared.
He had to stand aside from active ministry in the parish of Staplefield, west Sussex, in the diocese of Arundel and Brighton in the south of England, when the allegations were made. He has been living in another parish there since, although he spent Christmas and new year in Ireland.
It is understood that rather than waiting in England for the investigation to be completed, he has been persuaded to return to Ireland to await its outcome.