Former Bishop of Galway Eamonn Casey prepares to celebrate 60 years
in the priesthood later this month but is unlikely to be granted the
privilege of saying Mass publicly to mark the occasion.
Dr Casey (84) has still not been returned to ministry five years
after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) decided not to bring
charges following allegations of abuse made against Dr Casey.
The
prelate has always strenuously denied the allegations which were made by
a woman and related to alleged incidents more than 30 years ago.
The
same woman made similar unproven claims against others.
Despite the DPP's belief that Bishop Casey has no charge to answer,
the Vatican's internal investigation into the matter is apparently still
ongoing and Dr Casey is still awaiting a decision.
When asked about the issue, Fr Sean McHugh,
spokesman for the Diocese of Galway, simply responded by saying: ''I
will not be replying to your enquiry.''
Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi SJ was not contactable as The
Irish Catholic went to press this week.
The Vatican reserves the sole
right to judge allegations made against a bishop.
However, it is unclear
just why the investigation is taking so long, especially since the DPP
and the Gardai have long since ended their interest in the case.
In
other such cases, Church inquiries have often been completed swiftly
after the civil proceedings have come to an end.
Bishop Casey resigned as Bishop of Galway in 1992 after revelations
that he had fathered a child with American divorcee Annie Murphy.
He
subsequently spent many years working as a missionary in Ecuador and in a
parish in Britain before returning to live in Galway in 2005.
Dr Casey
won widespread praise for his tireless work as president of Trocaire
over many years and has attended a number of Masses publicly as a member
of the congregation.