Pressure is mounting on Cardinal Desmond Connell to comment publicly on his role in the handling of paedophile priests in Dublin.The pressure comes after a statement by Bishop of Galway Martin Drennan, which laid the blame for the mishandling of the situation at Connell’s feet.
Drennan said all the major decisions about how to handle paedophile priests in the Dublin archdiocese were made by Connell.
Drennan was auxiliary bishop in Dublin from 1997 to 2005.He was mentioned in the Murphy report into clerical child abuse for his role in referring the case of a suspected child abusing cleric, Fr Guido, to Connell.
The Murphy Report found that there had been a ‘‘major breakdown in communication’’ in relation to a further case, involving Fr Noel Reynolds, who was parish priest in Glendalough, which Drennan subsequently had direct responsibility over.
Clerical sources in two separate dioceses have indicated that Connell could clarify the role played by Drennan by making a statement outlining precisely how much information was shared with auxiliary bishops in relation to clerical child abuse cases, and the two cases mentioned in particular.
However, Drennan is not expected to make a formal request to Connell asking him to make such a statement.
It is understood that Drennan does not intend to offer his resignation to Pope Benedict despite the recent decisions of Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin Jim Moriarty and Dublin auxiliary bishops Raymond Field and Eamonn Walsh to stand down.
Their resignations came in the aftermath of the Murphy report, which found that successive archbishops had mishandled and concealed clerical child abuse.
The report also led to the decision of former Bishop of Limerick Donal Murray to step down last month.
Drennan said that he was not asked to take part in an interview with the Murphy Commission and that he did not believe that there was any significant reference to him in the report as he had not been sent any draft copy of its preliminary report.
This is a mandatory requirement where someone is to be criticised in a report under the commission of investigations legislation.
Calls to Cardinal Connell’s office last week were not returned.
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