Confusion remains as to whether Archbishop Dermot Clifford actually
had the authority to make changes he announced in the Cloyne Diocese
just months after he took over as administrator.
He was appointed administrator by the Pope in March 2009 after Bishop
John Magee's handling of child protection was criticised.
Just months
later in June, Dr Clifford set about appointing new parish priests
apparently unaware that Canon Law states that he could only appoint
parish priests after he is in the job a year.
Overreach
It is understood that several priests of the diocese complained to
the papal nuncio in Dublin about what they saw as an overreach of the
archbishop's authority in the Cloyne diocese.
Canon 525 of the Code of Canon Law states that an apostolic
administrator can only ''appoint parish priests if the see [diocese] has
been vacant or impeded for a year''.
A Canon Lawyer said it is probably
that the archbishop may have been unaware of the restriction before he
acted and probably rectified the situation several months later after he
had been in situ for a year.
He also pointed out that in special circumstances the Vatican could
waive such a restriction.
SIC: IC/IE