IRELAND
Irish Independent
Ralph Riegel and Majella O’Sullivan
PUBLISHED
04/02/2015
A CLERIC has vowed to fight the decision by a top Vatican court to dismiss him from the priesthood.
Fr Dan Duane (76) told the Irish Independent that he was “very disappointed” by the decision of the Vatican to uphold a ruling of the Apostolic Signatura, one of Rome’s highest clerical courts, which recommended he be dismissed.
The Vatican court last month rejected Fr Duane’s appeal against being defrocked following a Church investigation over child sexual abuse allegations.
Fr Duane, who has been in restricted ministry for the past eight years, had appealed the ruling of a canonical court in Ireland that he be dismissed from the clerical state.
But Pope Francis has now endorsed the decision of the top Roman court.
The Diocese of Cloyne apologised to those who had levelled abuse allegations for the length of time the clerical dismissal process took.
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