Only one of the 26 Catholic Irish dioceses was represented at the State reception for Cardinal Desmond Connell in Dublin on Monday night. All had been invited. The diocese represented was the Dublin archdiocese, of which Cardinal Connell is archbishop.
Also present were three of the five auxiliary bishops from the Dublin diocese: Dr Jim Moriarty, Dr Raymond Field, and Dr Eamon Walsh. Dr Fiachra O Ceallaigh was involved with the visit of the relics of St Therese of Lisieux to Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin and Dr Martin Drennan was otherwise engaged, according to a spokes man for the archdiocese.
A spokesman for the Irish Bishops' Conference said he was unaware of the reason for the absence of so many bishops, but that both the Catholic Primate, Dr Sean Brady, and his predecessor, Cardinal Cahal Daly, had been in Lourdes on pilgrimage since the weekend.
None of the 12 Church of Ireland bishops was present, though all had been invited. All had a prior arrangement to attend a reception at the See House in Dublin that night.
Speaking yesterday, the Archchbishop of Dublin, Dr Walton Empey, explained that he had written about this to both Cardinal Connell and the Taoiseach's office and had received "a most gracious letter" from the cardinal. He said it was planned to mark the cardinal's elevation with a special liturgical service in Christ Church Cathedral.
The Church of Ireland Primate and Archbishop of Armagh, Dr Robin Eames, said he met Cardinal Connell last Friday and had explained to him why they would be absent.
Dr Empey said that if it were not for the prior engagement he would have attended the reception in Dublin Castle "because of Cardinal Connell". But he did feel the Government had been "insensitive in its handling of the issue by placing the cardinal in that position". He felt that in future where a reception of a religious nature was concerned the wording on the invitation should say from "the Taoiseach and the Government."
The Bishop of Cork, the Rt Rev Paul Colton, said he was personally sorry not to have been at the reception. Doing so would in no way undermine the particular view of marriage espoused by the church, he said. It was why he disagreed with comments by Dean MacCarthy of St Patrick's Cathedral.
The Bishop of Meath, the Most Rev Richard Clarke, said he also would have gone, as one who had stood for legislation at General Synod for the remarriage of divorced persons in the Church of Ireland. But he did not feel he could tell another church how it should respond to such matters. He disliked the tone of Dean MacCarthy's comments.
