Irish bishop pressed to resign; reportedly ignored procedures in dealing with abuse

December 23, 2008

Bishop John Magee of Cloyne, under increasing pressure to resign because of his handling of the clerical abuse scandal, did not follow procedures envisioned by canon law for dealing with abuse allegations, according to a report in the Irish Independent. “It is clear from last Friday's internal report from the Church's own watchdog that Bishop Magee had completely [also] failed to implement the child protection guidelines agreed for implementation in all 26 dioceses by the Bishops' Conference,” an Irish canon lawyer added.

In a statement that appeared to put more pressure on Bishop Magee, Dublin's Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said that he is "extremely concerned" by indications that there is a "wide diversity in the interpretation and application" of procedures established by the Irish bishops for coping with sex-abuse reports. While he pronounced himself satisfied that the Cloyne diocese had now fallen into line with the established procedures, Archbishop Martin said that he want clear assurance "that all dioceses and religious congregations have committed themselves to a common system."

 

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Further information:

• Statement of the Archdiocese of Dublin on child protection
• Clerics distance themselves as bishop under pressure to quit (Irish Independent)
• Bishop, minister criticised over Cloyne report (Irish Times)
• Irish bishop resists pressure to resign after critical report on sex-abuse handling (CWN, Dec. 22)