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	Prelate Admits He Asked Rome to Step in By Ralph Riegel Irish Indpendent March 9, 2009 http://www.independent.ie/national-news/prelate-admits--he-asked-rome-to-step-in-1665726.html THE Bishop of Cloyne, John Magee, told his parishioners that he personally asked Pope Benedict to appoint an Apostolic Administrator because of the difficulties he faced in combining routine diocesan work with assisting a childcare protection commission. Dr Magee -- who addressed a congregation of 300 people at 6pm Mass on Saturday night in St Colman's Cathedral in Cobh -- explained that it would be "very difficult" for him to balance his normal duties with the workload involved in assisting the Commission of Inquiry who are investigating how the Cork diocese handled clerical child abuse allegations. The Bishop's message was read out at all Masses in the Diocese of Cloyne yesterday. However, Dr Magee did not mention the issue of resignation -- or how long he will insist on retaining his title while another cleric runs his diocese. He promosed that he will now offer every possible co-operation to both the commission and to Archbishop Dermot Clifford, who "has been given all the powers and duties of the Bishop of Cloyne". Dr Magee said that, since Christmas, there had been significant developments following on from last year's report into the handling of clerical sex abuse -- and that childcare protection training was now under way in all parts of the diocese. He concluded by asking for prayers for the new diocesan officials and for victims of clerical abuse.
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