Two more Irish bishops resign

Mick had asked, “How many Irish bishops will resign before next year is out?” Well, as reported here, two more resigned last night – Bishops Éamonn Walsh and Raymond Field. The resignations came after Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, challenged a claim by one of the two, Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin Éamonn Walsh, that Dr Martin had “confirmed publicly that he had confidence in his Dublin Auxiliary Bishops”. As the RTÉ report notes

Of the five serving bishops who were mentioned in the Murphy report only one, the Bishop of Galway, Dr Martin Drennan has not declared his intention to resign.

Meanwhile, a garda crime scene investigation unit is investigating a fire which has gutted the 19th century St Mel’s Cathedral in Longford. Adds From the updated RTÉ report

The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, has said he respects the decisions by Bishops Eamonn Walsh and Raymond Field to offer to resign. He called the two prelates ‘extremely good bishops’ to whom many in the archdiocese of Dublin were extremely grateful for the things they had done. But, he added, good people had to be accountable. Archbishop Martin said he believed that there was a future place for his two auxiliaries in the Irish Church after they had stepped down. He revealed that he had spoken to both of them briefly to see what role they would like to play.

Pete Baker