A group of Derry Catholics has written to Pope Benedict expressing serious concern about the conduct of affairs in their diocese by Bishop Seamus Hegarty. Dr Hegarty is currently in Rome, where Ireland's Catholic bishops are on a two-week ad limina visit.
Every Catholic bishops' conference makes such a visit to Rome at five-year intervals to report to the Pope and senior Vatican figures on what has been going on in their church locally.
Derry's lay Catholic group, Voice of the Faithful, has written to the Pope and the Vatican's Congregation of Bishops to say they are "deeply concerned" about Bishop Hegarty's "failure to act on the recommendation made by Pope John Paul II to all Irish bishops in 1999 to set up structures which would give Ireland's lay Catholics a greater sense of belonging to their own church".
They criticise "his failure to advance in the diocese proposals for support for victims of sexual abuse announced by all the Irish bishops in February 2005 in the document Towards Healing".
They claim Bishop Hegarty has failed "to act on an undertaking he gave to the diocesan Ministry and Change consultation group in 2003 to implement a model of collaborative ministry in the diocese (involving priests and laity together)" and further say that he appointed "a priest of the diocese against whom two allegations of sexual abuse had been made to a role in counselling victims of sexual abuse in 2001".
They allege that Bishop Hegarty made "contradictory statements" in a TV interview in February 2005, relating to diocesan contributions to an abuse compensation fund," and criticise his "failure to respond in 2004 to correspondence from 50 young members of a Derry Catholic youth movement". They also say Bishop Hegarty failed "to make adequate provision for adult faith development in the diocese".
As with all the Irish bishops, Dr Hegarty will have a brief private audience with Pope Benedict, during which affairs of the diocese of Derry will be discussed.
An abridged version of the Derry Voice of the Faithful report to Rome is available at www.votfi.com and will be discussed at Derry's City Hotel tonight at 8.30pm.
