THE REMAINS OF disgraced Bishop Eamonn Casey have been removed from the Cathedral crypt in Galway and entrusted in the care of his family.
In a statement issued this morning, the Galway Diocesan Office said that it would like to thank everyone for their understanding and patience as the process to decide what action to take and to carry it out was underway.
“Significant consensus emerged around the unique role of a Cathedral as a place of unity rather than division, healing rather than hurt and peace rather than disquiet,” it said.
“Now, with the assent and cooperation of members of the late Bishop Eamonn’s family and following prayers for the dead, his mortal remains have been moved from the Cathedral Crypt and entrusted to their care.
“It is their express wish that the arrangements they have made for Bishop Eamonn’s final resting place remain private.”
His family members have asked for their privacy be respected at this time.
Last July, Bishop of Galway Michael Duignan said the internment of Casey in the crypt beneath the Galway Cathedral was under “careful consideration” after he was described in a RTÉ documentary as a sexual predator.
Bishop Duignan described Casey’s burial in the crypt as “a very sensitive issue that deeply affects people in different ways, and which has different facets”. Casey was buried there in 2017.
The programme examined the Catholic Church’s handling of allegations against Casey, who died in 2017 at the age of 89.
It included an interview with Casey’s niece, Patricia Donovan, who claimed that he first raped her at the age of five and that the sexual abuse continued for years.
It also revealed how a six-figure settlement was paid by the Catholic Church to one complainant after Casey’s death, and that the Vatican banned Casey from public ministry in 2007 following “allegations”.
Casey consistently denied all the allegations of child sexual abuse made against him. Although all the complaints were reported to An Garda Síochána, he was never charged with, or prosecuted for, any sexual crimes.