The Bishop of Limerick Donal Murray “is not looking to save his position” and has answered all questions related to the Murphy report, it was claimed today
In a statement issued this morning, a spokesman for Bishop Murray said he “had entered into a process of engagement with the people and priest of his diocese as to whether his ministry is a hindrance or help to the diocese.”
The statement comes in response to comments made by the Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin last night in which he said he was not satisfied with the response of some of the bishops named in the Dublin diocesan report.
Speaking on RTÉ's Prime Timeprogramme, Dr Martin said those bishops named in the report, but no longer serving in the Dublin archdiocese, could not tailor their responses to people in their current dioceses.
What they did and did not do failed people in Dublin and they owe them a response, he said.
Bishop Murray's spokesman pointed out that the bishop had conducted a full press conference last Thursday following the release of the report.
He said this had been followed up by interviews with the radio station Live 95 and the Limerick Leader. He added that the Bishop had also addressed the matter in his homily on Sunday and had a letter read out at all masses in the archdiocese at the weekend.
“We would also like to stress that full consideration is being given to the opinions of all members of the public, not least those in the Archdiocese of Dublin and, particularly, survivors of clerical child sex abuse during Bishop Murray’s time there as an auxiliary bishop. All voices are being heard,” the statement said.
Pressure has been continuing to mount on Dr Murray to resign in the wake of the Dublin diocesan report which criticised him for his mishandling of complaints of child sexual abuse by priests during the period up to 1996 during which he was an auxiliary bishop in the Dublin archdiocese. In one case, his actions were “inexcusable”, the report said.
Earlier yesterday, responding to a question from The Irish Timesas to whether they believed Bishop Murray should resign, the Catholic primate and Archbishop of Armagh Cardinal Séan Brady, the Archbishop of Cashel Dermot Clifford and the Archbishop of Tuam Michael Neary said in a joint statement that it was important that he be given time and space to consider his future.
The other bishops who still hold office and whose handing of clerical child abuse was addressed in the Murphy report are Bishop Jim Moriarty of Kildare Leighlin diocese; Bishop Martin Drennan of Galway diocese; and the two Dublin auxiliary bishops, Bishop Ray Field and Bishop Éamonn Walsh.
The report said Bishop Laurence Forristal, who is now retired, was the only auxillary bishop to unequivocally admit in evidence to the Commission of Investigation into Dublin's Catholic Archdiocese that he may not have handled matters satisfactorily.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny last week said that all bishops implicated in the Dublin diocesan report should resign immediately.
In its report, which was published last week, the commission concluded that there is "no doubt" that clerical child sexual abuse was covered up by the Dublin archdiocese and other Church authorities.
