Murray receives further criticism from politicians and McCloskey parents
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny yesterday called for Bishop Donal Murray to resign.
The Irish Times quotes Kenny as saying: “This is another appalling litany of shame. Apologies here are not good enough. This is a case where men protected guilty men. This is where those in authority knew what was going on.” He insisted that people who were in positions if authority and knew what was going on should no longer continue in such positions.
Meanwhile, Labour justice spokesman Pat Rabbitte stated that Murray should not remain a patron of any schools. In a statement on the Labour website, he declared that “whether any such Bishop should remain as a patron of a school or otherwise continue in the management or supervision of education or health provision for children is a matter for the State. Therefore where a Bishop has been directly implicated in the Murphy Report, he should have no role as a school patron.”
The Irish Times also reports that Mary McCloskey, mother of the deceased Peter McCloskey (background at Bock the Robber), repeated her calls for Bishop Murray’s resignation, and quotes her as saying: “I am very, very disappointed with my church. I wonder how long I can stay with it.”
In an interview on Live 95FM yesterday, Murray maintained that he does not intend to resign, and defended his handling of the various incidents he is criticised for in the Murphy Report. “The question whether I remain on as far as I am concerned is a question for the people and priests of Limerick,” he said.