Cathedral Gutted in Early Morning Fire

St Mel's Cathedral in the Irish town of Longford has been gutted in an early morning fire. The Catherdal, which is the seat of the Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, was built in the mid 19th century in the classical style.

Photo credit : RTE.ie

Dublin's Two Auxiliary Bishops Tender their Resignations

Bishop Eamonn Walsh

Bishop Raymond Field

As the fallout from the Murphy Report continues, the only two Auxiliary Bishops active in the Archdiocese of Dublin announced late last night that they were offering their resignations to Pope Benedict XVI.

Midnight Mass from St Peter's

Some images from the celebration of Midnight Mass in St Peter's Basilica last night. During the entrance procession it would appear that a female member of the congregation was able to gain access to the Holy Father and, in the resulting confusion, Pope Benedict fell to the ground. The Holy Father was then able to continue with the celebration seemingly unaffected.

Christus natus est

Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin Submits Resignation

Following on from last week's resignation of the Bishop of Limerick following the publication of the Murphy Report into how the Archdiocese of Dublin dealt with allegations of clerical sexual abuse, another former Dublin Auxiliary has offered to fall upon his sword. The Bishop has released the following statement:

On the Sunday after the ‘Murphy Report’ into the Archdiocese of Dublin was published (29th November 2009), I stated the following in Carlow Cathedral:

“As you are aware, I served as an Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Dublin from 1991 until my appointment here in 2002. While the Murphy Report does not criticise me directly, I feel it is important to state that I fully accept the overall conclusion of the Commission – that the attempts by Church authorities to ‘protect the Church’ and to ‘avoid scandal’ had the most dreadful consequences for children and were deeply wrong.”

I do not want to dwell here on individual criticism as I have already responded to that. As I acknowledged in radio interviews last week, the Murphy report covers far more than what individual Bishops did or did not do. Fundamentally it is about how the leadership of the Archdiocese failed over many decades to respond properly to criminal acts against children.

Over the last few weeks, I have been reflecting on what should be my response to the overall conclusion of the Murphy report – particularly because I was part of the governance of the Archdiocese prior to when correct child protection policies and procedures were implemented.

It does not serve the truth to overstate my responsibility and authority within the Archdiocese. Nor does it serve the truth to overlook the fact that the system of management and communications was seriously flawed. However, with the benefit of hindsight, I accept that, from the time I became an Auxiliary Bishop, I should have challenged the prevailing culture.

I know that any action now on my part does not take away the suffering that people have endured. I again apologise to all the survivors and their families. I have today offered my resignation as Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin to the Holy Father. I hope it honours the truth that the survivors have so bravely uncovered and opens the way to a better future for all concerned.

I will endeavour to continue to do my best, as I have throughout my 48 years of ministry, to share Christ’s light and hope for the world. We are about to celebrate Christmas, a time when we welcome Christ as the ‘light that darkness could not overpower’. It is this truth that leads us forward. Christ is our Light.

May the blessing, the grace and the peace of Christmas be with us all.