BISHOP of Limerick, Dr Donal Murray, is under increased pressure to resign following comments made by the Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin that he is not happy with the response of bishops named in The Murphy Report into clerical child sex abuse.Bishop Murray is to make a decision on his position in the next two weeks.
Should he decide to stand down, it could mean a fresh wave of new appointments throughout the diocese.
Speaking on RTE’s Primetime, Archbishop Murray said bishops named in the report had a responsibility to the archdiocese of Dublin, where the abuse took place, and should not be seeking answers from members of their own dioceses, and would be writing to the bishops to this effect.
He added that he would, if in that position, personally prefer to come forward, rather than be “hunted or pushed” to give answers.
“I can’t ask my priests to stand in front of congregations unless they have answers that they genuinely feel they can stand over. It’s not enough to say that it is a matter for dioceses where they are now”.
Bishop Murray, who recently vacated the former bishop’s residence on the North Circular Road, and purchased a property in Annacotty, is named in the report for handling badly a number of complaints and suspicions against priests in the Dublin archdiocese, where he served from 1982 to 1996.
During the interview on Tuesday, Archbishop Martin said that he would not be willing to sit at meetings with people who had not responded to a very serious situation.
Given the planned meeting of the hierarchy next Wednesday and Thursday, it seems that he is seeking clarification and responses before then.
This comes after a meeting of 80 members of the Limerick diocese – 65 priests and 15 lay people – issued a statement in support of the Bishop Murray, saying: “We believe it would be a retrograde step for the continuing development of safeguarding children, in our diocese and society, for our bishop to resign”.
The wife and daughter of Peter McCloskey, an abuse victim who took his own life in 2006, have also come out in support of Bishop Murray
Speaking on Morning Ireland, Peter’s wife, Kathy, and daughter, Amy, said the bishop should not resign and that he had been a huge support to them, and was a “very kind and humane man”.
A radio vox in the city showed the majority favoured the bishop stepping down.
In response to the Archbishop’s comments, Bishop Murray, who replaced Jeremiah Newman in Limerick in 1996, said he was not looking to save his position, but “had merely entered into a process of engagement with the people and priests of his diocese as to whether his ministry is a hindrance or help to the diocese”.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, Peter’s wife, Kathy, and daughter, Amy, said the bishop should not resign and that he had been a huge support to them, and was a “very kind and humane man”.
A radio vox in the city showed the majority favoured the bishop stepping down.
In response to the Archbishop’s comments, Bishop Murray, who replaced Jeremiah Newman in Limerick in 1996, said he was not looking to save his position, but “had merely entered into a process of engagement with the people and priests of his diocese as to whether his ministry is a hindrance or help to the diocese”.
