DUBLIN (IRELAND)
RTE [Dublin, Ireland]
July 27, 2024
The Galway Diocesan Office has said it has begun “a period of careful consideration and consultation” in relation to the interment of Bishop Eamon Casey’s remains in the crypt beneath Galway Cathedral.
It follows the documentary ‘Bishop Casey’s Secrets’, which examined the Catholic Church’s handling of allegations against him
Casey died in 2017 aged 89 and was interred in a crypt in Galway Cathedral.
The documentary revealed that the former Bishop of Galway was formally removed from public ministry in 2007 by the Vatican, following “allegations” which, RTÉ established, including his niece Patricia Donovan’s complaint of child sexual abuse.
In a statement this morning, the Galway Diocesan Office highlighted comments by the Bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora, Michael Duignan earlier this week, who expressed his commitment to “working with anybody affected, to help bring truth, healing and peace to such terribly painful situations.”
It said that in this context, the interment of Bishop Casey’s remains in the crypt beneath Galway Cathedral was “a very sensitive issue” which “deeply affects people in different ways”.
It added that it required period of “careful consideration and consultation”, which has already begun, adding that time and space were now required on the issue.