2nd Irish bishop resigns in sex-abuse scandal

December 23, 2009

A second Irish bishop has resigned in the wake of a report exposing a cover-up of sexual abuse by priests in the Dublin archdiocese.

Bishop James Moriarty of Kildare and Leighlin offered his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI on December 23—less than a week after Bishop Donal Murray of Limerick had stepped down. Both were auxiliaries in the Dublin archdiocese during the period covered by the Murphy Commission report, which recounted a series of failures to address complaints of sexual abuse.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin has encouraged the bishops who were criticized by the Murphy Commission to reconsider their current situations. (The Murphy Commission investigated the administration of the Dublin archdiocese over a period of time that ended before Archbishop Martin’s installation.) Bishop Moriarty had indicated that he would resign if he concluded that the move would be helpful to the Church. His resignation comes just 2 years before he would have reached the age of 75, the normal retirement age for Catholic bishops.

 

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Further information:

• Bishop Moriarty offers resignation to pope (RTE)
• A second Irish bishop, James Moriarty, may resign (BBC)
• Bishop Moriarty set to resign (Irish Times)
• Irish bishop resigns under criticism for abuse cover-up (CWN, 12/17)
• 'Peversion of power and trust' exposed in Dublin archdiocese handling of sex-abuse complaints (CWN, 11/30)