There has been some unsettling developments in the (R.C.) Killaloe Diocese over the last while - well to be more pointed about it - since the appointment of its current bishop 3 years ago.Bishop Kieran O'Reilly was plucked from the SMA outpost in Africa and given the purple following the retirement of Willie Walsh in January 2010.
Now, it cannot be easy moving from the outback to the forward thinking Diocese of Killaloe which he inherited, but it seems that Bishop O'Reilly is not exactly in tune with the people of his domain - clerical and lay alike.
First off, he decides not to officiate at all the confirmation ceremonies throughout the diocese but rather delegate this task to the clergy of the parishes he fails to visit which amounts to two-thirds of the diocese each year.
This did not then - nor indeed still - resonate well with the people and indeed it is a well established fact that the now retired Bishop Walsh even stepped in to assist those parishes who were snubbed by the incumbent.
And this particular charade continues on....3 years later each parish has now had the episcopal visit just the once at least for confirmation as opposed to on an annual basis.
In relation to being available to the people and walking, guiding and inspiring them well lets just say the title of 'The Invisible Bishop' is proving very apt at the moment.
What is also causing further pondering is how this almost financially broke diocese can afford the fifteen thousand or so euros (€15,000.00) to install brand new security gates and system with state of the art keycode panel and cameras at the entrance of the demense??
However, the biggest concern also is how it is that 2 clergy of the diocese this year alone have decided to leave the priesthood and yet not a whimper, discourse or any form of engagement from the Palace about the whole thing.
Some are beginning to think that Bishop O'Reilly is only a short term appointment and indeed as many are beginning to hope so if this is what his first 3 years in office is amounting to, and indeed the rumblings are beginning to get a little more audible now.
Time will tell on this one....