(18 May 10 – RV) On Tuesday, Pope Benedict appointed Fr. Kieran O'Reilly superior
general of the Society of African Missions, as bishop of Killaloe Ireland.
He succeeds
Bishop William Walsh, who retired from the pastoral care of the same diocese upon
having reached the age limit.
Also in Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, the Primate
of All Ireland has asked Pope Benedict XVI for ‘for additional support for my work,
at Episcopal level’. The Cardinal has also asked that the upcoming Apostolic Visitation
of the Church in Ireland, announced by Pope Benedict XVI, be extended to the Archdiocese
of Armagh.
The Cardinal revealed these steps to the general public Monday as
he launched the Second Annual Report of the National Board for Safeguarding Children
in the Catholic Church in Ireland.
Cardinal Sean Brady summarised the report’s
finding in two brief sentences: “Firstly, that children should be safer today within
the Church than they once were. Secondly, those that seek to harm children should
feel much less secure".
Launching the text Monday the Primate of All Ireland
also welcomed the news that 2,356 men and women have been trained and are now acting
as child safeguarding representatives in Parishes across the country, with coverage
of all Parishes to be achieved in the coming months.
“There is no room for
complacency”, he said, noting how the “tragic experience of the past” as highlighted
in the Ryan and Murphy Reports issued earlier this year remind us that constant vigilance
and accountability is needed.
Quoting from Pope Benedict XVI’s Pastoral Letter
to Irish Catholics, Cardinal Brady said “Only decisive action carried out with complete
honesty and transparency will restore the respect and good will of the Irish people
towards the Church”
On a more personal note the leader of the Island Nation’s
Catholics expressed his gratitude to “all those whom I have met over recent weeks
as part of my own reflection on the next steps we might take. I listened firstly to
those who are survivors of abuse. Some of these meetings were made known to the public
while others were held in private at the request of those I was meeting”.
With
regards his own diocese, that of Armagh, the Cardinal also announced that Northern
Ireland’s new Independent Safeguarding Authority, will in future be this statutory
authority and not the Church that will decide who is permitted to work with children.
The
Cardinal concludes that “To assist me in addressing the vital work of healing, repentance
and renewal, including engagement with survivors of abuse, as well as the many other
challenges and opportunities which confront the Diocese of Armagh and the Church in
Ireland at this time, I have asked Pope Benedict XVI for additional support for my
work, at Episcopal level”.