Archbishop Diarmuid Martin is being called a lame duck after the Vatican has overruled him on forcing two bishops to resign. There are even suggestions that his own position has become untenable after being overruled by the Vatican.
“There is some chuckling in episcopal palaces around Ireland that Martin has been put in his box by the Vatican for making a big issue of securing the resignations of bishops who had served in the archdiocese of Dublin," said one senior church source told the Irish Independent.
"Diarmuid is now isolated and finds himself a lame-duck leader of a divided diocese," the source told the Irish Independent.
It has also become known that Martin did not inform other Irish bishops that he had been of the Vatican decision.
The first they heard was when the Irish Catholic newspaper broke the story.
A spokesperson for the archdiocese stated Archbishop Martin would not be doing any interviews on the topic.
Meanwhile, protests against the Vatican decision are being organized.
Kevin Flanagan, of Religious Abuse Truth, is organising a letter-writing campaign to urge the two bishops to reject the Pontiff's wishes and quit.
He said: "It's an absolute joke. I am asking everybody to write to the two bishops and ask them to just resign themselves.''
"They have to have a conscience themselves. It's the same as if a priest wants to leave the church then he can leave -- so what's to stop the two bishops from leaving?" he asked.
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