RSS
News


Home Page > News > Carlow priest slams Vatican over new bishop selection procedure

Carlow priest slams Vatican over new bishop selection procedure

By
MOLLY MULDOON,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Friday, August 27, 2010, 7:49 AM
Updated Friday, August 27, 2010, 8:15 AM

print this article Print
email this articleE-mail
comment on article 8 Comments
 

St Andrew’s Church, Bagenalstown
St Andrew’s Church, Bagenalstown


An Irish priest has called the Vatican’s selection process “secretive and greatly imbalanced”.

Fr Paddy Byrne from Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow hit out at elective powers in Rome over the secrecy surrounding the upcoming appointment of the new bishop of Kildare and Leighlin.

The Carlow priest is the youngest in the diocese and writes a weekly column for the Carlow Nationalist newspaper. In his column this week he acknowledged that he was cynical and deeply frustrated by the no change mentality that continues to govern in Rome.

“The process of selecting our new bishop again belongs to the culture and mentality of ‘no change’. As a priest in the diocese, I have no confidence in a process that is secretive, non-consultative and greatly imbalanced. The reality is that Rome decides who our next bishop will be. A fundamental in that selection is the ‘safe pair of hands’ mentality. Being loyal to dysfunctional structures is always rewarded. The safe pair of hands is perhaps why there is such a lack of creativity and vision in our Irish Church presently,” Fr Byrne argues.

"There is a fundamental need for fresh, progressive and more authentic leadership in our church," Fr Byrne added.

The appointment of a new bishop to the diocese of Kildare and Leighlin comes in the wake of Bishop Jim Moriarty’s resignation due to the damning Murphy report which exposed sexual abuse by priests in the archdiocese of Dublin.

​
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail


8 Comments

See all comments

ellenfromcork | Apr 22, 2011, 11:18 AM EDT
So FatherVol, what you're saying is, the church asks for everyone's opinion and then does what it wants to anyway. I think we all knew that.

Report abuse

JamesMurphy | Aug 27, 2010, 03:00 PM EDT
marym232 and those who think like her are what's wrong with the Church. More power to Father Byrne and open-minded Catholics like him. The Vatican is a relic of the dark ages and won't emerge from them until the old guard in Rome are gone. Until that day comes, which I sincerely hope it does sooner rather than later, it will continue to cause further disillusionment of the faithful.

Report abuse

moygannon | Aug 27, 2010, 02:42 PM EDT
Its great to see that a young Priest with vision is not afraid to speak out. The Irish catholics should support such a man and endeavour to curb the secrecy behind the church. Eventually the catholic church will devour itself if it does'nt come into the 21st century.

Report abuse

FatherVol | Aug 27, 2010, 01:06 PM EDT
The process of selecting bishops is very concultative, adn I ahve been involved in teh selection of two bishops in my own dicoese. Questionnaires are sent to the Dicoesan Board of Consultors by the "Vatican" and in our dicoese to more than 200 lay men AND women involved in the local church. Additionally, inquiries are made every other hear in each dicoese as to priests who are in local churches that might make good bishops. These names are surfaced at provincial meetings of bishops. Responses to the inquiries regarding specific candidates to fill a vacant see are considered "under the seal of confession" because there is must that is privately said about the candidate's personality, ability to lead, form community, and personal beliefs about a variety of Church teachings and disciplines. From all these responses, a list of suitable three candidates for that particular see are presented to the Holy Father. The appointment usually comes from that list but may not.

Report abuse

bcoc1124 | Aug 27, 2010, 10:54 AM EDT
MaryM232 Are you for real????? Have you never heard of "judge not lest you be judged"??? Who are you to question whether Father Byrne is interested in being a Catholic priest? Hope you are shown more mercy than you offer. And, how is the present system of appointing bishops working for you? It was the current bishops who shuffled pedophiles around thereby allowing more fodder for these perverts. Father Byrne sounds to me like a real priest who loves the church enough to say all's not well. Now, if you still need to judge, how about Bernie Law living like a prince in Rome?

Report abuse

Searlit | Aug 27, 2010, 10:26 AM EDT
I think Fr Byrne is right on about putting an end to the secrecy in the Church. Openess leads to trust, while secrecy leads to violent abuses being covered up.

Report abuse

Godscre | Aug 27, 2010, 10:16 AM EDT
The Holy Spirit should be involved in selecting our moral leaders. Glad a Priest is speaking out for truth and justice. That's rare. Those who do, are 'corrected'. May God's peace be with Fr. Byrne.

Report abuse

MaryM232 | Aug 27, 2010, 09:17 AM EDT
Byrne apparently isn't interested in being a Catholic priest, but it exploiting the priesthood for personal agenda, which is on par with pedophile priests, in fact attitudes like his are the reason that there have been scandals, because men who have no real faith hid out or exploited the priesthood.

Report abuse

 


IrishCentral logo
"Like" IrishCentral
IrishCentral Mobile QR code


Connect to IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or Sign-Up directly

Already Registered? Sign-In!

Welcome to IrishCentral!
Please provide the following information in order to create your account

Username:
E-Mail Address:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy


Already Registered? Sign-In!
Forgot my password

Welcome to IrishCentral!
All we need is the following information and you will be part of the #1 Irish community in the US

E-Mail Address:
First select a unique username:
Username:
Now choose a password:
Password:
Confirm Password:
I agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Thank you!

Just one more step and you will be part of the largest Irish community in America! Tell us a little more about you to start enjoying all the features of IrishCentral.

Additional Information:

First Name:
Last Name:
Date of Birth:
Zip:
Gender: Male  Female 
Country:
Degree of Irishness:
Household Income:
Level of Education:

Subscribe to our newsletters:

The Best of IrishCentral - Daily Newsletter
Special Offers from our sponsors

or
Skip

You can edit your information at any time, just go to "my account" when you're logged in.

Log into IrishCentral with your Facebook account

or sign-in directly

E-Mail:
Password:
 Remember me Forgot my password
Not a member? Register Now!
submit to reddit
print this article Print
email this articleE-mail