Bishop Moriarty resigns
The Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, Jim Moriarty, has resigned.
Following a meeting with priests of the diocese and dioscesan staff this afternoon, Wednesday, December 23, a statement was issued by the Catholic Communications Office confirming his resignation.
The statement said that the Bishop spent the past few weeks reflecting on what should be his response to the overall conclusion of the Murphy Report on abuse within the Catholic Church.
Bishop Moriarty was mentioned within the report in connection with his role as an Auxiliary Bishop in Dublin at the time of a complaint of sexual abuse against a priest there in the 1990s.
The Bishop admitted that: "with the benefit of hindsight, I accept that, from the time I became an Auxiliary Bishop, I should have challenged the prevailing culture".
He said that it did not "serve the truth" to overstate his responsibility and authority within the Archdiocese of Dublin from 1991 until his appointment to Kildare and Leighlin in 2002. He also said in his statement that the system of management and communications in the Archdiocese at the time was "seriously flawed".
"I know that any action now on my part does not take away the suffering that people have endured. I again apologise to all the survivors and their families. I have today offered my resignation as Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin to the Holy Father. I hope it honours the truth that the survivors have so bravely uncovered and opens the way to a better future for all concerned."
The resignation is a turn-around for Bishop Moriarty, who continued to insist until this week that he would not resign.
The Bishop was named in the Murphy report, but insisted that the report did not criticise him directly. The 73-year-old bishop was due to retire in two year's time. He has served 48 years in the ministry.
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Weather for Naas, Ireland
Thursday 17 May 2012
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