Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Bishop James Moriarty resigns as the Bishop of kildare, that leaves the Bishop of Galway Martin Drennan still to do the right thing




















Dear All

The child sex abuse by Priests in Ireland highlighted in the Murphy Report is a disgrace.

Acts of incredible depravity committed were the work of fiends.

What is also shocking is the cover up and refusal to act by the Catholic Church which swept the abuse under the carpet.

Decades of suffering for the victims and free rein to commit further acts by the guilty.

Pope Benedict XVI is expected to accept the resignation of the Bishop of Kildare on Thursday.

Bishop James Moriarty offered to resign in December.

And let us be clear, it is the right thing to do for himself, the victims and the Catholic Church.

Although Bishop Moriarty served as an auxiliary bishop in Dublin from 1991-2002, and was barely criticised in the Murphy Report, he has now recognised he was wrong not to challenge the prevailing culture.

Bishop Moriarty said in relation to the report;

“renewal must begin with accepting responsibility for the past”.

"Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that we needed a new beginning and that I could play my part in opening the way''.

Bishop Moriarty's resignation is expected to be announced in Rome at 1100 GMT on Thursday.

The Bishop of Limerick, Dr Donal Murray, resigned in December and Bishops Eamonn Walsh and Raymond Field await a decision on whether their resignations will be accepted.

Only the Bishop of Galway Martin Drennan is now left, he says that resigning would be an “injustice”.

I don’t think he knows the true meaning of justice.

There can be no fresh start, no turning over of a new leaf until he resigns.

What is needed more than the resignations is a zero tolerance policy. Never again should such people who abuse children evade justice.

And those in authority should never remain silent.

There is one more left to go.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

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