Bishop Moriarty of Kildare and Leighlin has clarified his position in regard to his on-going response to the Murphy report in a statement today. He explained that while it was fair for him to say that he had done nothing wrong and that the Commission does not criticise him directly, this does not change the overall conclusion of the report which Bishop Moriarty fully accepts.
Bishop Moriarty went on to say the following:
“My position is simple. I am 73 years old and I am obliged to hand in my resignation when I turn 75. However, if it will serve the Church, the people and the victims, I am prepared to go sooner but no decision has been taken on that yet.”
He outlined that he had already had discussions with Cardinal Brady and Archbishop Martin in this regard and was reflecting on various contacts, comments and correspondence.
Statement
In a live interview broadcast on KCLR at 10 am this morning (17 December 2009), Bishop Moriarty clarified his position in regard to his on-going response to the Murphy report.
Further to interviews with various local newspapers published this week, Bishop Moriarty expanded on his statement that he does not consider there are any grounds in the Fr Edmondus case upon which he should resign. (See chapter 1 and chapter 13 of the Murphy report);
“I stand by my statement that I should not resign for my partial involvement in the Fr. Edmondus case but I want to add that no Bishop can put his own position before the good of the Church”
Bishop Moriarty also outlined that his personal involvement in one case is not the only issue that he is reflecting on at this time. He again quoted what he said in Carlow Cathedral on 29th November 2009;
“As you are aware, I served as an Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Dublin from 1991 until my appointment here in 2002. While the Murphy Report does not criticise me directly, I feel it is important to state that I fully accept the overall conclusion of the Commission – that the attempts by Church authorities to ‘protect the Church’ and to ‘avoid scandal’ had the most dreadful consequences for children and were deeply wrong.”
He explained that while it was fair for him to say that he had done nothing wrong and that the Commission does not criticise him directly, this does not change the overall conclusion of the report which Bishop Moriarty fully accepts.
Bishop Moriarty went on to say the following;
“My position is simple. I am 73 years old and I am obliged to hand in my resignation when I turn 75. However, if it will serve the Church, the people and the victims, I am prepared to go sooner but no decision has been taken on that yet.”
He outlined that he had already had discussions with Cardinal Brady and Archbishop Martin in this regard and was reflecting on various contacts, comments and correspondence.
During the interview, Marie Collins joined the discussion. Bishop Moriarty praised her role and again apologised for all she has had to endure. He agreed with her assessment that it was now about wider issues than what individual Bishops did or did not do.
Marie Collins stated that she was not saying that Bishop Moriarty covered up abuse but that the investigation into Fr Edmondus in 1993 should have been more thorough.
Bishop Moriarty fully accepted and agreed with this point.
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