Yet another bishop of the Catholic Church in Ireland is facing public calls to resign in the wake of the daming Murphy Report on the failure of the Catholic hierarchy to effectively deal with child abuse. Bishop Martin Drennan of Galway, in the west of Ireland, was one of five bishops mentioned in the report has stunned Ireland and drawn vocal criticism from Pope Benedict XVI.
Bishop Drennan is the only Catholic prelate mentioned in the report not to have stepped down. Diocesan spokesman Fr. Seán McHugh told The Irish Times that the bishop was "strong in his belief that he did nothing wrong" in a string of incidents.
The chief executive of victim support group One in Four Maeve Lewis said Bishop Drennan should do the "honorable thing" and resign.
Bishop Eamonn Walsh and Bishop Raymond Field resigned on Christmas Eve 2009, having been named in the Murphy Report for their failure in handling allegations of child abuse within the Archdiocese of Dublin. They issued a joint apology to the victims of abuse, even while they themselves have not been accused of abuse.
Their resignation follows that of the Bishop of Kildare James Moriarity and the Bishop of Limerick Donal Murray in December 2009. The report found Bishop Murray's failure to deal with a priest suspected of child abuse "inexcusable".
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There were far more than five bishops mentioned in the Murphy report. Not all are criticized.
Bishop Drennan was not criticized in the report. In the 720 page report which examines 46 sample cases, Bishop Drennan's name is mentioned only in connection to one case, in which concerns (not allegations of child sexual abuse) about a "Fr. Guido" (a pseudo name) were brought to his attention. About that case the Murphy report concludes,
"The Archdiocese acted correctly in immediately addressing the concerns and suspicions in this case. It did everything possible to assist Fr Guido to address the issues of concern and, when it was clear that a limited ministry was not possible, it helped him to get started on another career." (The Murphy Report, page 620)
If Bishop Drennan had been involved in the neglect or cover up of clerical child sexual abuse I would also be calling for his resignation, but this is not the case according to the evidence which is available.