THE shockwaves which greeted the resignation of Cardinal Keith
O’Brien travelled the short distance across the Irish Sea from Scotland
to his home town in north Antrim.
Yesterday, people on the streets of Ballycastle
expressed their shock and disappointment over the controversy which has
dominated headlines around the world.
Cardinal O’Brien last visited the town in 2005 when he came back to Northern Ireland to officially re-open St Peter’s Cathedral in Belfast.
He spent two nights in Ballycastle celebrating mass at St Patrick’s and St Brigid’s.
As news of his resignation filtered through, many local people were struggling to come to terms with this latest scandal in the Catholic church, and one involving a Ballycastle native.
Chris McCaughan, a retired teacher, said many people were proud of the senior role which Cardinal O’Brien held.
“That’s what it makes it very sad,” he told the News Letter. “Ballycastle has a great community and we are all proud that Cardinal O’Brien reached the very top of the church in Scotland. It is all very sad and disappointing, we don’t know what happened or what is said to have happened, but it’s sad that it has come to him resigning.”
Councillor Cara McShane believes the cardinal was right to resign, and said the controversy was difficult for people to speak about.
“It came as a big shock when he resigned. All Catholic communities will be feeling the shock, but the fact that he is from Ballycastle, it maybe has more resonance here,” she said. “I think he was right to resign but that must have been a difficult decision for him and his family. Like everyone else we will all have to wait and see what outcomes there are of the investigation into the allegations that have been made.”
The councillor added: “I think it is something that people find hard to talk about. It is very unsettling and uncomfortable for people. There is a big parish here in Ballycastle but it is also a close-knit community and something like that affects everyone.”
The local parish website says the cardinal’s mother was Alice Moriarty, a native of Ballycastle, and that the cardinal spent the first 11 years of his life in the town, attending the local primary school.
Cardinal O’Brien last visited the town in 2005 when he came back to Northern Ireland to officially re-open St Peter’s Cathedral in Belfast.
He spent two nights in Ballycastle celebrating mass at St Patrick’s and St Brigid’s.
As news of his resignation filtered through, many local people were struggling to come to terms with this latest scandal in the Catholic church, and one involving a Ballycastle native.
Chris McCaughan, a retired teacher, said many people were proud of the senior role which Cardinal O’Brien held.
“That’s what it makes it very sad,” he told the News Letter. “Ballycastle has a great community and we are all proud that Cardinal O’Brien reached the very top of the church in Scotland. It is all very sad and disappointing, we don’t know what happened or what is said to have happened, but it’s sad that it has come to him resigning.”
Councillor Cara McShane believes the cardinal was right to resign, and said the controversy was difficult for people to speak about.
“It came as a big shock when he resigned. All Catholic communities will be feeling the shock, but the fact that he is from Ballycastle, it maybe has more resonance here,” she said. “I think he was right to resign but that must have been a difficult decision for him and his family. Like everyone else we will all have to wait and see what outcomes there are of the investigation into the allegations that have been made.”
The councillor added: “I think it is something that people find hard to talk about. It is very unsettling and uncomfortable for people. There is a big parish here in Ballycastle but it is also a close-knit community and something like that affects everyone.”
The local parish website says the cardinal’s mother was Alice Moriarty, a native of Ballycastle, and that the cardinal spent the first 11 years of his life in the town, attending the local primary school.