BELFAST (NORTHERN IRELAND)
Belfast Telegraph
March 2, 2018
By Malachi O’Doherty
Like all members of the Roman Catholic clergy they have pledged themselves to obeying those above them in the hierarchy. Therefore, if they want to remain in good standing with Church authorities they seek permission from the Vatican to go.
And sometimes they get it. And sometimes they get the assurance that their departure is neither appropriate nor desirable.
There have been huge embarrassments for the Church around the disclosure that bishops and cardinals have failed to report abuse to the police.
The outstanding case was that of the former primate, Cardinal Sean Brady, who had debriefed two boys abused by Brendan Smyth, a priest in the Norbertine Order.
Cardinal Brady had sworn the boys to secrecy and had seen it as the fulfilment of his duty to report his findings to his bishop, even as the odious Smyth continued to abuse.
So Bishop John McAreavey’s decision to resign in the face of intense heat from the media is unusual both because it was prompt and because it appears not to have involved consultation with the Vatican.
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