Pressure mounts on Bishop of Limerick
A Catholic bishop criticised for not investigating an allegation of child sex abuse today said that in response to calls for his resignation he would be guided by the priests and people of his diocese.
As pressure mounted on Bishop of Limerick Donal Murray to step down, he said his greatest regret was if any of his actions contributed to the suffering of a child.
The shocking Murphy Report on child sex abuse found the bishop handled a number of complaints badly and described his failure to investigate one allegation as inexcusable.
He told churchgoers in Limerick the question of whether he should resign was a question of whether his presence is a help or a hindrance to the diocese.
“In that matter I will be guided by the priests and people of the diocese,” said Bishop Murray in his homily at St Joseph’s Church to mark the first Sunday of Advent.
The inquiry found hundreds of allegations were covered up by senior churchmen over a 30-year period because they were obsessed with secrecy and upholding the reputation of the Church and its assets.
The primary loyalty of bishops and archbishops was to the Church, it said, with clergy often moving suspect priests from parish to parish
Senior clergy, survivors of abuse and opposition politicians said churchmen implicated in the report who still hold a position of power should resign.
But Taoiseach Brian Cowen has refused to be drawn into the controversy and said it was for institutions and their members to determine the appropriateness of any individual to hold ecclesiastical office.
Meanwhile Bishop Murray, who was based in Dublin from 1982 to 1996, used the service to again apologise to his congregation and victims of abuse.
“If there are cases where the abuse of children might have been prevented had I acted differently, I offer to them my sincerest apology,” he said.
“I can honestly say that in the one such case that I can think of, my inability to get to the full truth was not the result of any lack of effort on my part, but a lack of skill and experience.
“It is no consolation to the children who were abused that I was lacking in experience and I will remain eternally sorry and apologetic to anyone whose suffering I might have prevented.
“At no time, however, did I receive an allegation of sexual abuse and fail to take it seriously, at no time did I engage in an attempt to cover up.”
Another bishop told his congregations he found the handling of complaints revolting and shameful.
In a statement read at masses Colm O’Reilly, of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, apologised for the suffering caused to children by priests who abused them.
“What makes this criminal activity most abhorrent is that it was perpetrated by people with a sacred calling who betrayed the trust placed in them,” said Bishop O’Reilly.
“It must be accepted that church leaders put the good of the Church as institution before the welfare of the abused and failed to act in an appropriate manner.
“A great wrong has been done which I find revolting and shameful.”
In the North, Bishop Noel Treanor, of Down and Connor, said the heinous crimes against children described in the report were appalling and distressing.
And Dromore Bishop Dr John McAreavey revealed he would step down if he was found to lack credibility.
“All I can say is that any bishop today around whom there are serious questions in relation to the care and protection of children has serious questions to answer,” Dr McAreavey told BBC Radio Ulster.
“I’m sure Bishop Murray is reflecting on that – I know that he has taken the view that he should remain but I think he will be thinking very seriously about that.”
