Dr Walton Empey, Archbishop of Dublin, told the Synod yesterday:
I wish to refer to the scurrilous remarks made by Mr Patsy Mc Garry in today's Irish Times.
He did not even bother to read the standing orders of this Synod before making several erroneous points. He accuses the bishops of leading from behind and following the sheep. May I point out to Mr McGarry that the bishops vote after the House of Lay and Clerical representatives because that is laid down by the constitution of the Church of Ireland. That is the law and it has nothing whatsoever to do with cowardice or abdication of responsibility.
Secondly, Mr McGarry stated that I did not vote on the resolution. That is a lie and there are many in this Synod who are willing to vouch for that fact. This error is not as serious as the former one but it is symptomatic of the carelessness of this journalist reporting on our affairs.
I ask the editor of The Irish Times to ensure that Mr McGarry apologises fully for this scurrilous report and that he gives as much space to getting the facts right as he did on basing his report on total misinformation.
Patsy McGarry, Religious Affairs Correspondent, writes: "I apologise to Dr Empey for the errors he points out. It can be the case with journalists that pressures of events and of time in particular work against our own standards. I should have reported that under the constitution of the Church of Ireland, bishops do not vote until after clerical and lay representatives. I accept unequivocally that Dr Empey voted, and as he said, on the resolutions.
I did not see him indicate his intention to the tellers. I have been unaware of carelessness on my part in the reporting of Church of Ireland affairs, nor has this previously been brought to my notice. Personally, I regret very much the distress I have caused Dr Empey."