Tuesday, May 06, 2008

No disruption to chaplaincy service in Newry hospital, promises bishop

The auxiliary bishop of Armagh, Dr Gerard Clifford, has promised that there will be no disruption of chaplaincy services at Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry when a group of Marist priests who have been ministering to patients leave next month.

The bishop moved to quell rumours that the hospital would have no Catholic chaplaincy service when the three-man Marist team leaves.

Dr Clifford said that priests from the Armagh archdiocese itself will take back responsibility for Middle Killeavy parish - which includes the hospital – when the Marists depart.

They would be supported by three Marist nuns who would not be leaving the parish, he added.

And he stressed that this team of clergy, whom he said would be named within a month, would care for patients in Daisy Hill Hospital.

The Bishop also said that the new team of Diocesan priests will take over in June and the details of that team will be made public within a month.

He said the Marist order had been on a six year contract to service the Middle Killeavy parish and thus was now coming to an end.

“Priests from the archdiocese of Armagh will take over responsibility for the Parish of Middle Killeavy in June when the team of Marist priests complete their contract of six years to Middle Killeavy and return to other work for the Marist Order” he said.

“The Armagh priests will be responsible for the Chaplaincy work in Daisy Hill Hospital and will be supported in this work by the Marist Sisters who will continue their work in Middle Killeavy.”

Bishop Clifford thanked the Marist priests, Frs Edwin McCallion, Michael Maher and Paddy Stanley, for their commitment and dedication to the parish over their six years running the parish.

He also expressed appreciation for the work of the three Marist nuns - Sr Brenda, Sr Elsie and Sr Maura - and said he looked forward to their continued ministry in the parish.

The bishop was clarifying the position after rumours started that Daisy Hill Hospital may have to go without the Last Rites from June because the Marist order’s contract was ending.

A diocesan spokesperson had said that while new priests would be found for the parish, he could not guarantee that at a time of falling vocations, replacements could be found in time.

The parish of Middle Killeavy, formerly Cloughogue and Upper Killeavy, was originally formed to cope with an expanding population in the Newry hinterland and contains an estimated 15,000 houses.
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