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Ultimatum to four Irish Catholic bishops: Quit or be fired by Vatican

Prime Minister Brian Cowen comes out swinging, too


Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin
Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin

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Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has apparently issued an ultimatum to four bishops embroiled in the Irish Catholic Church child sex abuse scandal — to either quit or be fired by the Vatican.

Martin also has a new and potent ally: In a dramatic move, Prime Minister Brian Cowen has backed Martin, saying it was "a time for leadership and accountability" from the Catholic Church.

The four bishops were implicated in the escalating scandal by the Murphy Report, which probed the period in which they served in the Dublin Archdiocese. They are Bishop Raymond Field, Bishop Eamon Walsh, Bishop Martin Drennan and Bishop Jim Moriarty

One bishop, Donal Murray of Limerick, has already been forced out, and Martin is believed to have told the others that their days are numbered.

If the four bishops don't quit, Martin will reportedly petition the Congregation of Bishops in Rome to remove them.

For his part, Cowen stated: "The resignation of Bishop Murray is a welcome indication that those who are in positions of leadership and responsibility in the Church are facing up to their responsibility in the light of the very clear findings of the Murphy Commission."

Martin appears to have a clear mandate from the Vatican to sort out the Church sex abuse issue once and for all, and is moving very aggressively to have those who were in any way implicated in it to be removed.


Nster.com


14 Comments

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It is truly a sad situation. Having gone to a Catholic parochial school and having worked with Priests in various parishes and serving on Parish, Regional and Diocesan Councils, I never encountered any incidents of the sort reported here. I have been fortunate to have been associated with fine commited, holy men. As in ages past, the Curch will survive and good men will replace those few bad apples.
Very sad indeed.
I am firm in the punishments of the guilty. The only reason the modern Church is against execution is their secret knowledge of all the abuse they have done. Many laws even within the church itself gave torture and execution as the only means to save the sinner of child abuse. The evil Bishops and priests and sisters and brothers should all be taken and tossed in the Atlantic. Maybe before that an gorilla aphrodisiac sprayed on them and then placed into the gorilla cage. A 300 pound gorilla having his way with them would be just. All of these horrid sins of the proud bishops were foretold by Our Lady of La Salette and Fatima. God will soon restore order but before than every good Irishman should burn these evil ones out of their homes.
Fired? Were there no criminal charges? Were there no civil charges by the victims or their families?
Martin is the man! Wish we had one in America.
Didn't Oprah once say child sexual abuse is the 'great spirit killer'? Well fire those child molesting sickos now and be done with it.
Broken lives; broken souls......broken Church!!
It is quite clear that these bishops are full of themselves and above reproach in their own mind. They need to be close to Christ before they can examine their conscience to say it is clear. The power they have corrupts to deeply. Thank God for the prime minister to have stepped in perhaps now they may re-examine their conscience in the light of Christ to see how much damage they allowed to the little ones whome the Father so loves. God grant true repentance to our wayward shepherds.
Bishop Eamonn Walsh is reported in other columns here in 'The Best of Irish Central' in the in-box saying he will be "reluctant to resign but would do so if he became 'a block on the Gospel" He sure blocked any light on these child molesters during his tenure. What Gospel was he reading in those years? In 'the bickering' that has started here does anyone fully fathom the life long irreprable destruction wrought on these innocents? I have 'a block' for Walsh and his cohorts. It's made of wood and their necks should be bowed over it in the Market Square and the axe sliced. Didn't Christ say better a milestone be placed around their neck and cast in the sea that harm any of these little ones? That's the bloody Gospel and not MY judgement! Why is it always waffle and Absolution? They should be JAILED and that's that. I happen to enjoy Kickstar. He has brought to people's awareness quoting the Irish Constitution stuff they speed-read over. The Church and State slept on the same sofa since The Irish Republic's inception. The Catholic Church was handed a favoured and only voice. That it's now a zig-zag across the pavement as to who is accountable for these atrocities is the current mayhem. My girlfriend and I will be attending Midnight Mass this Christmas Eve as we always do. Does the above make me 'Anti-Catholic'? In my opinion Kickstar does not 'twist' things. Is a maveric with a rare sense of humour at times. Why would I want to be classified 'as a Sheep or a Goat' either? When my star-sign is Taurus the Bull.
kickstar twists things again... It was Christ who called on Peter to feed his lambs. That includes you,kickstar. Who are you to argue with Christ?
They say that citizens of Nations in the far east that were invaded by the Japanese during the second world war seen how reasonably easy the British were defeated so after the war was over they organized themselves and ultimately drove the British out..Where am I going with this ? And what has this to do with Bishops getting fired ?, Well its like this, People have seen the inners of the Catholic Church exposed in the full and bright light of day, they have heard about the extent,depth and duration of the abuse and I believe things are never going to be quite the same again even among the most devoted of the so called flock. Also I am not sure I would want to belong to a Religion that classifies me as a Sheep or a Goat.
I agree w/ irishathens re in-house bickering... the priests calling for resignations possibly see themselves as potential replacements of the bishops who must surely resign. I don't agree w/ irishathens 'perverted skins' comment. These bishops serve their dioceses' flocks admirably, particularly Bishop Walsh. But I sadly agree that the four bishops should resign; the slightest stain on otherwise good bishops must be purged in public for the good of the Church as a whole, whatever these bishops may have purged in Confession.
I am proud to be a Catholic but this bishops r embarassment to the whole body of Christ.
The in house bickering has started....Lets wait and see what they'll come up with to save their perverted skins
 




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