US cardinal told apostolic visit off to 'a very poor start'

CARDINAL SEÁN O’Malley of Boston, who is apostolic visitor to the Dublin archdiocese, was told by a clerical abuse victim Sunday night that his concelebration of Mass in Saint Mary’s Pro-Cathedral Sunday with two bishops named in the Murphy report was “a very poor start” to his visitation.

Among the concelebrants with him and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin were Bishop Dermot O’Mahony and Bishop Éamonn Walsh.

Dublin abuse victim Marie Collins, who met the cardinal for about an hour last Sunday night, said the participation of the two bishops sent out “a very, very bad message”.

This was particularly so as “Bishop O’Mahony has never shown any regret, nor has he accepted the Murphy report findings”, she said.

Cardinal O’Malley met Ms Collins and other Dublin abuse victims at separate meetings in All Hallows College last Sunday night. 

He “appeared sincere and very open”, she said, but “there’s no way of knowing. I’ve been in that situation many times before.”

Cardinal O’Malley became archbishop of Boston in 2003 after his predecessor, Cardinal Bernard Law, resigned following controversy over his handling of clerical child sex abuse allegations there.

He has been sent by the pope as apostolic visitor to Dublin “to verify the effectiveness of the present processes used in responding to cases of abuse”, as he put it Sunday.

The Murphy report found that Bishop O’Mahony’s handling of allegations or suspicions of clerical child sexual abuse was “particularly bad”. 

Auxiliary bishop of Dublin from 1975 to 1996, it found that he was aware of 13 priests against whom there were allegations or suspicions by 1995.

Last December, one month following publication of the report, Bishop Walsh offered his resignation. 

That has since been refused by the pope.

Sunday’s Mass, marking the feast of St Laurence O’Toole, patron of the archdiocese, was attended by members of the archdiocese’s metropolitan chapter, which includes senior clergy in the archdiocese.

Bishop O’Mahony is dean of the chapter and Bishop Walsh is its precentor.

Following publication of the Murphy report, Archbishop Martin asked Bishop O’Mahony to refrain from publicly administering confirmation and to cease his association with a charity which brings disabled children to Lourdes.

SIC: IT/IE