Dublin's Archbishop Martin criticizes auxiliary's 'polemics' in defense of deceased prelate

December 21, 2015

Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has again clashed openly with one of his auxiliary bishops, denying that the late Bishop Dermot O’Mahony had been a “scapegoat” for the sex-abuse scandal.

At the funeral for Bishop O’Mahony last week, Bishop Eamonn Walsh, a Dublin auxiliary, had praised the deceased bishop as “a man of great integrity,” saying that he had borne in silence the sharp criticism of the Murphy Commission, which investigated the handling of sex-abuse complaints in the Dublin archdiocese.

Archbishop Martin took issue with that claim as he spoke with reporters. He said that the late Bishop O’Mahony had an opportunity for “robust engagement” with the Murphy Commission, and was assisted by “very competent” lawyers. The archbishop went on to suggest that anyone who rejected the findings of the Murphy Commission should challenge them in court.

“I don’t think a funeral is the time for polemics,” said Archbishop Martin, underlining his disapproval of Bishop Walsh’s remarks. The archbishop has been critical of his auxiliary in the past. In December 2009, Bishop Walsh tendered his resignation—by most accounts, at the archbishop’s prompting. Pope Benedict XVI declined to accept that resignation.

 

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Further information:

• Archbishop Martin hits back at claims of abuse 'scapegoating' (Irish Independent)
• Deceased Irish bishop called 'scapegoat' for abuse scandal (CWN, 12/16)