"It may be 2011 before I step aside” - Bishop Colm O’Reilly.The bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, Dr Colm O'Reilly, has conceded that he may have to continue in his post for a year or more despite the fact that his resignation at the age of 75 has been formally accepted by the Pope.
He said that that Pope Benedict’s acceptance of his request to retire is automatic but “it will only be put into effect when a successor is appointed” and he remains in the post in the meantime.
The Pope was simply following Church protocol in that Canon Law required that “somebody writes a letter of resignation and sends it in when he reaches 75 and I have done that".
“The Pope, as a matter of course, accepts this letter -what is done in all cases is that the Pope says that he is accepting the Bishop's resignation but that it will only to be put into effect when a successor is appointed."
But Bishop O'Reilly said the process of finding a replacement was under way and that candidates would be proposed by the diocese.
"There is a long tradition within the church that when a bishop passes on or retires the priests of the diocese were all assembled in a meeting and asked their opinion,” he explained.
“They sent off three names to the Archbishops and the names were then transferred onto Rome”.
But Dr O’Reilly warned that as in the recent replacement of the bishop of Killaloe, when the Pope picked a Rome-based order priest from Cork, there was no guarantee local nominees would be in the shake-up.
He said that one of his predecessors – a priest who helped build St Mel’s Cathedral - was only 33 when he was made bishop.
And though he was from Athlone, he had never worked in the diocese “and a number of priests didn't even know him", he added.
Bishop O'Reilly said that going by recent evidence, it could be late 2011 when he finally steps aside.
"For the Bishop of Clogher (Dr Joseph Duffy) it was fifteen months after he sent his resignation that someone was appointed,” he pointed out.
“My resignation went in in January so on the law of averages it will take some more time."
In the meantime, Bishop O’Reilly will continue to run the diocese and devote a large part of his time to the restoration of St Mel's Cathedral after last winter’s fire.
He said that he intends to continue his interest in the St Mel's project after he is replaced as bishop but “will be in the very happy position of not having to take the rap if anything goes wrong".
SIC: CIN