Bishop of Dromore: Murray has “serious questions to answer”; would resign if in Murray’s position
Criticism of Bishop Donal Murray’s inaction in the face of child sex abuse complaints mounted yesterday. Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster, Bishop of Dromore John McAreavey stated: “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. 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. I’m not sure I can say more.” Significantly, McAreavey also asserted that if he was facing the criticism that Murray now faces, he would himself resign from office.
McAreavey was speaking on Sunday Sequence, BBC Radio Ulster’s weekly programme that deals with religious affairs. The complete programme may be listened to here.
In other reaction from Northern Ireland, Derry priest Michael Canny conceded that the reputation of the Church was “in tatters”. “The issue is now one of trust, and that is why it will take the rest of my lifetime as a priest to build up that trust again, because the trust and confidence in the Church has been broken on a fundamental level.”
Meanwhile, speaking yesterday on RTE’s The Week in Politics, Willie O’Dea said that Murray should examine his position. “I know Donal Murray personally and I have always had a very good relationship with him, and I find him a decent man. I must say that I am bitterly disappointed to read what I have read in the Murphy report. [...] I am sure Donal Murray, who is a person who would think deeply about these things, is examining his situation at the moment and he will make the appropriate decision.”
On Saturday evening, Murray maintained that he had not acted wrongly. In a statement read at masses in the Limerick diocese, he reiterated: “I never deliberately or knowingly sought to cover up or withhold information brought to my attention. There were, as the report notes, occasions when roles/responsibilities were not clear or where I did not have full information concerning cases in which I was asked to become involved.”
A full account of the criticism Murray received in the Murphy Report may be found in our previous post.