In a heartfelt letter as he announced his retirement due
to ill-health, Bishop Liam McDaid of Clogher has urged people not to opt
out of the Church over the failings of some priests and bishops.
In a letter to the people of Clogher explaining that his
Parkinson’s disease had not left “much room for discussion” on the
subject of retirement, Bishop McDaid used his farewell to appeal for the
faithful to endure with their Church.
“Some Church members find it difficult to see beyond the
bishop and priest and mistakenly take human failure on their part to be a
failure in the way and teaching of Jesus Christ,” he wrote. “In any way
of life, when we meet with human failures, we would be throwing the
baby out with the bath water if we dismissed the profession itself.
“When adults and parents opt out of Church on account of
the shortcomings and failures of the messengers, is this not
impoverishing themselves and their children, effectively depriving them
of the nourishment and guidance which they can find only in the message
of Christ?”
News
Reacting to news of Bishop McDaid’s forced departure,
Archbishop Eamon Martin, Primate of All Ireland, offered his praise for
Bishop McDaid’s “gentle pastoral wisdom, his warm concern for others and
his genuine dedication to furthering the mission of the Church [which]
was evident in his fidelity to the work of the Bishops’ Conference”.
Meanwhile, the Diocese of Clogher has named Msgr Joseph
McGuinness, Diocesan Secretary, Chancellor of the Diocese and
Administrator of the Parish of Tyholland, to be Diocesan Administrator
for Clogher with immediate effect.