A decision of the Church of Ireland primate, Dr Robin Eames, to call off a special meeting of the church's general synod and to convene instead an electoral college to elect a new bishop of Tuam, Killala, and Achonry, has been described as "a muddle" by a senior church figure. Yesterday Dr Eames announced he was convening the electoral college at Armagh on November 21st to fill the vacancy which arose in the diocese last June when its former Bishop, the Right Rev John Neill, was appointed to Cashel and Ossory.
Members had been notified by Dr Eames last month that a special general synod of the entire church would take place at Malahide, Co Dublin, on November 15th to consider the vacancy.
This followed the passing of a motion at the Tuam, Killala, and Achonry diocesan synod in Westport on September 25th which called for the "immediate" election of a bishop to the diocese. The motion was passed by 58 votes to one, with one abstention.
Similar motions were passed subsequently at diocesan synods in Dublin and Glendalough, Cashel and Ossory and Ferns. Strong support was also indicated at the Limerick diocesan synod.
Opposition within the Church of Ireland to filling the vacancy within the present structure of the diocese was based on the relatively few members there.
Estimates put the figure at 2,300.
Last night, the Provost of Tuam, the Very Rev Dr Robert McCarthy, who was the sole person to oppose the Tuam motion at its diocesan synod last September, described the current situation as "a muddle" which suggested that the primate, Dr Eames, had been in favour of filling the post all along.
"He didn't need to get into a position where he felt obliged to act [by calling an electoral college]," Dr McCarthy suggested. "He was the person [at the general synod] last May who decided it was not to be discussed." A Commission set up by the church's general synod in May 1995 to consider the episcopal needs of the Church of Ireland in a time of change indicated last week that it no longer wished to propose a Bill at the proposed special synod.
As a consequence of the Commission's decision not to propose a Bill last week, last Friday Dr Eames, in whose province the diocese of Tuam, Killala, and Achonry falls, notified members by letter that the special synod would not take place.
On its establishment, the Commission had requested that until its proposals for church reorganisation were debated at the general synod in May of next year, no electoral colleges should be called, and no new bishops be appointed.
Dr McCarthy said that Tuam had consistently pleaded over the past four years that the diocese was not viable, and had only changed its mind when the episcopal vacancy arose.
He described as "forward-looking" proposals by the Episcopal Commission to amalgamate parts of the Tuam diocese with Limerick, but said that these fell through when Limerick "squealed and squealed".
Anything which involved reorganisation would have the effect of "treading on corns", he said. This tended to be the effect in all organisations, and he felt that in this case, as in all such cases, it would be the weak who would go to the wall.
Twelve clerical and 12 lay electors from the west of Ireland diocese, along with 12 clerical electors and 12 lay electors from sister dioceses in the Armagh province of the church will meet at 12.15 p.m. at Church House, Armagh, following a celebration of Holy Communion at St Patrick's Cathedral there on Friday week, to choose the bishop.
Talks of amalgamating the Tuam, Killala, and Achonry diocese, in whole or in part, with neighbours, have been going on since 1868.
Names being discussed as likely candidates to fill the Tuam vacancy include that of the Dean of Ferns, the Very Rev Leslie Forrest, the Dean of Tuam, the Venerable Anthony Previte, and the Archdeacon of Dublin, the Venerable Gordon Linney.
