THE ANNOUNCEMENT yesterday by Bishop James Moriarty that he has offered his resignation to Pope Benedict will put further pressure on the three other serving bishops also mentioned in the Murphy report to do likewise.
One of those bishops, Dublin Auxiliary Bishop Éamonn Walsh, was appointed in April 1990, over a year before Bishop Moriarty was appointed a Dublin auxiliary bishop in September 1991.
Both the Bishop of Galway Martin Drennan and Dublin Auxiliary Bishop Ray Field were appointed auxiliary bishops in Dublin on September 21st, 1997. Bishop Drennan was appointed Bishop of Galway in May 2005.
Last night, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin issued a statement in response to a letter sent by Bishop Walsh to all priests in his area of the Dublin archdiocese in which he said Archbishop Martin had expressed full confidence in his auxiliary bishops, following publication of the Murphy report.
Bishop Walsh and Bishop Field are the only two auxiliary bishops in Dublin.
It is claimed Archbishop Martin did so at a meeting with clergy of the archdiocese at Citywest on December 12th last following the meeting with Pope Benedict he and Cardinal Brady had on Friday, December 11th.
Last night, a spokeswoman for the archbishop said he wished “to clarify that when asked at the Citywest gathering of priests if he had confidence in his priests and auxiliary bishops, he replied that he had confidence in the ministry they were carrying out”. She continued “he clearly noted, however, that with regard to the auxiliary bishops, he is still evaluating their positions regarding the manner in which they addressed the question of accountability for the implications of the Murphy report”.
She continued: “Archbishop Martin does not believe that anyone could interpret his comments as giving unconditional support and he has, indeed, received critical comments for his not offering such support.”
There was no comment from the Vatican last night on the offered resignation of Bishop Moriarty.
He will remain Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin until his offer of resignation is formally accepted by Pope Benedict, probably towards mid-January.
In his statement yesterday Bishop Moriarty said: “The Murphy report covers far more than what individual bishops did or did not do. Fundamentally it is about how the leadership of the archdiocese failed over many decades to respond properly to criminal acts against children.”
He continued that “with the benefit of hindsight, I accept that, from the time I became an auxiliary bishop, I should have challenged the prevailing culture.”
He said: “I know that any action now on my part does not take away the suffering that people have endured. I again apologise to all the survivors and their families. I have today offered my resignation as Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin to the Holy Father.
“I hope it honours the truth that the survivors have so bravely uncovered and opens the way to a better future for all concerned.”
Responding last night, Marie Collins, who was abused in 1960 by a priest named in the report with the pseudonym Fr Edmondus, said it was a “step forward”. The Murphy report found that Bishop Moriarty received a complaint about Fr Edmondus in 1993 concerning the priest’s contact with young children.
Bishop Moriarty spoke to Fr Edmondus and discussed the complaint with local priests and then archbishop Desmond Connell. “No attempt was made by archdiocesan authorities to check the archives or other files relating to Fr Edmondus when these complaints were received,” the Murphy report said.
Marie Collins said of Bishop Moriarty last night that she was “encouraged by him having courage”.
It was important that the remaining bishops did the same, she said.
Andrew Madden, who was abused as an altar boy by Ivan Payne, welcomed Bishop Moriarty’s decision and repeated his call for bishops Martin Drennan, Éamonn Walsh and Ray Field to also resign.