FATHER MICHAEL Mernagh ended his 300km walk of atonement yesterday afternoon with applause from a waiting crowd and an embrace from Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin. The archbishop was waiting on the steps of the Pro-Cathedral to welcome back a priest who has been calling for the resignation of the Bishop of Cloyne, Dr John Magee, since it emerged that the Catholic Church's own investigation had revealed serious flaws in the Cloyne diocese's handling of allegations of clerical sex abuse.
Though he is 70, Fr Mernagh, a former marathon runner, began his walk from the seat of the diocese at Cobh Cathedral on December 30th without training or preparation and at a time when most people's minds were on festive matters.
"He's a man of principle. I respect anybody like that. I appreciate very much his gesture, but it's his day and it's a credit to him," said Archbishop Martin whose public gesture of support for Fr Mernagh is likely to make life more uncomfortable for the embattled bishop.
Fr Mernagh was anxious to arrive on time, but, despite visits to Our Lady's Hospice in Harold's Cross and Christ Church Cathedral, the sprightly pace that the Augustinian priest has kept throughout his 300km odyssey meant that he arrived 11 minutes before his scheduled 1.30pm finish.
At 10am the priest set out from the Augustinian Novitiate in Templeogue in the company of about a dozen supporters including a Traveller couple, Mick "The Man" Connors and his wife Nan, who Fr Mernagh had helped back in 1984 when he stood in front of a bulldozer to prevent them being evicted from a site.
By the time he completed his journey he was joined by at least 50 others. They included Paddy Doyle, the wheelchair-bound author of The God Squad, the searing autobiography which was published in the 1980s before the trickle of clerical sex abuse allegations became a flood, fellow abuse victim Marie Collins and the co-ordinator of Irish Survivors of Child Abuse (SOCA) John Kelly.
They were joined by Barnados' chief executive Fergus Finlay, Sister Stanislaus Kennedy and Travellers from the Pavee Point project. Augustinian priests Fr Liam Ryan and Fr Ben O'Brien also shared the journey.
Fr Mernagh's first act on arrival at his final destination was to praise the weather, which has been remarkably dry throughout his walk given the time of year, the Irish countryside and the support of so many people.
"I realise one thing, though, as I'm ending this part of my journey: our journey to give justice and to make atonement is only beginning," he said.
"I have called, as I've called in the past, on the priests and bishops for a new heart of atonement. We must recognise that we are all at fault to allow this horrific history of clerical child abuse to go on. We need to come out of our denial, all of us, and ensure that this never happens again.
Before he began his walk, Fr Mernagh paid a visit to Bishop Magee. "As I told him in the sacristy in Cloyne, he must carry out his responsibilities. If he has failed, or I have failed, then I have to take the consequences of that.
"For the sake of his own clergy and his people, he has admitted he has been at fault. It is logical for him to step aside on all accounts.
Fr Mernagh laid the placard which he carried around his neck on the altar of the Pro-Cathedral and, after leading the congregation in the Magnificat, received a standing ovation from the crowd.
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(Source: IT)