Catholic World News News Feature

Irish Scandal Bishop Retires From Ministry September 08, 1998

DUBLIN (CWNews.com) - A former Irish bishop who resigned from his diocese after he acknowledged fathering a child two decades ago said on Monday that he is resigning from active ministry.

The former bishop, Eamonn Casey, 71, announced through the bishops' conference in Dublin that he had finished a five-year missionary posting in Ecuador and would now live with relatives in England. "I am not seeking or accepting any public pastoral ministry in the church in Ireland, England, or elsewhere," he said.

The former bishop of Galway stepped down six years ago after an American woman, Annie Murphy, said they had an affair in 1973 that resulted in the birth of their son, Peter. Casey then admitted to improperly using church donations to make child-support payments. He left Ireland in 1992 to pursue a missionary assignment after stepping down as bishop.