Dublin’s catholic archdiocese confirmed on Wednesday that auxiliary bishops Eamonn Walsh and Ray Field tenders for resignation, which were submitted to Pope Benedict XVI on Christmas Eve 2009, were turned down.
A Report (The Murphy Report) by Commission of Investigation into the handling by Church and State authorities of allegations and suspicions of child abuse against clerics of the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin, was critical of how the aforementioned auxiliary bishops handled complaints made to the church.
Both auxiliary bishops rejected initial calls for their resignations, however, mounting pressure from survivors, the public as well as the continuous media coverage forced them to change their decisions.
Two other bishops named in the Murphy Report—Bishop Donal Murray and Bishop Jim Moriarty had their offers of resignation accepted by the Vatican. A fifth bishop named in the report, Bishop Martin Drennan of Galway, has continued to resist calls for his resignation.
The Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, would not be commenting on the Vatican’s decision to not accept the resignations, said a spokeswoman for the Archbishop.
Survivors of clerical child sex abuse have been vocal in their reaction to the announcement. Clerical abuse survivor Andrew Madden told the Irish Times that he was not surprised with the news relating to the resignations.
“Since the Murphy Report was published, the Catholic Church in Ireland and at Vatican level has failed to take responsibility for the findings of that report, in particular the finding that sexual abuse of children by priests was covered up by archbishops and bishops for decades,” said Mr Madden.
“Pope Benedict and Cardinal Brady both failed to protect children from priests they knew to be abusers and in both cases those priests went on to abuse more children—in that context today’s announcement should come as no surprise to anyone,” he concluded.
It is believed that Senior Vatican figures are worried about the possible “domino effect” that could occur from this current set of tendered resignations and this may have influenced the pontiff’s decision.
A Report (The Murphy Report) by Commission of Investigation into the handling by Church and State authorities of allegations and suspicions of child abuse against clerics of the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin, was critical of how the aforementioned auxiliary bishops handled complaints made to the church.
Both auxiliary bishops rejected initial calls for their resignations, however, mounting pressure from survivors, the public as well as the continuous media coverage forced them to change their decisions.
Two other bishops named in the Murphy Report—Bishop Donal Murray and Bishop Jim Moriarty had their offers of resignation accepted by the Vatican. A fifth bishop named in the report, Bishop Martin Drennan of Galway, has continued to resist calls for his resignation.
The Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, would not be commenting on the Vatican’s decision to not accept the resignations, said a spokeswoman for the Archbishop.
Survivors of clerical child sex abuse have been vocal in their reaction to the announcement. Clerical abuse survivor Andrew Madden told the Irish Times that he was not surprised with the news relating to the resignations.
“Since the Murphy Report was published, the Catholic Church in Ireland and at Vatican level has failed to take responsibility for the findings of that report, in particular the finding that sexual abuse of children by priests was covered up by archbishops and bishops for decades,” said Mr Madden.
“Pope Benedict and Cardinal Brady both failed to protect children from priests they knew to be abusers and in both cases those priests went on to abuse more children—in that context today’s announcement should come as no surprise to anyone,” he concluded.
It is believed that Senior Vatican figures are worried about the possible “domino effect” that could occur from this current set of tendered resignations and this may have influenced the pontiff’s decision.
