Former Bishop of Ferns Brendan Comiskey (89) was “in some ways a product of the Church culture of his time”, his funeral Mass heard.
The bishop, who died at Louth County Hospital in Dundalk on Monday, was fondly remembered by mourners at the Sacred Heart Church, Sruleen, near Clondalkin, Co Dublin on Thursday.
His resignation as Bishop of Ferns in 2002 over his handling of abuse complaints against Fr Sean Fortune was also recalled.
“No one moment of the measure of a person’s life, all the moments must be in the scales, and we leave the final reckoning to God who alone knows our innermost thoughts,” said Fr Jim Fegan in his homily.
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Celebrant Fr Michael Ruddy recalled how Bishop Comiskey “was lucky to be a member of a close and loving family who he kept close ties with down the years, particularly over the recent months of his illness”.
Provincial of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary to which the late Bishop belonged, Fr Ruddy recalled how “Brendan, of course, had two religious families”. This included the congregation “and his three diocesan families, Clogher, his home diocese, Ferns of course, and the Archdiocese of Dublin, all represented here.”
While living with the congregation in Dublin over recent decades, “Brendan was much sought-after as a retreat director”, he said.
Mealtimes there “were always animated, shall we say, as stories were told with much embellishment as only Brendan could do and we developed a system there – a very simple system – where a number of fingers would be raised as Brendan began retelling, and these fingers corresponded to the actual times he had told the story before,” Fr Ruddy said.
“Sometimes we would run out of fingers, but it never stopped Brendan,” which drew laughter from the congregation. “Then of course there’s his family of friends and neighbours, also represented here. As one of those friends said recently, when Brendan became a friend, it was a friendship that lasted throughout life.”
Fr Fegan, parish priest of the Ballindaggin/Caim/Kiltealy group of Ferns parishes near Enniscorthy Co Wexford, recalled Bishop Comiskey’s request for forgiveness in his resignation address over how he dealt with child abuse cases in the diocese. How he had said “the sexual abuse of children is deeply abhorrent to me” and apologised to all concerned. “I can only assure you I did my best. Clearly this is not good enough,” the late bishop said then.
Fr Fegan said: “We can see more clearly now that Brendan was in some ways a product of the Church culture of his time, which focused overtly on organisation rather than people.”
He continued: “The overall story of Brendan’s life and the church he led helps to shape our approach to leadership and accountability today, so we too can admit when we’ve gone astray and correct our course.” It shows “that life is not just about how we handle our failures or successes but about the love we give to our companions on the road.”
Concelebrating the Mass with Fr Ruddy was Bishop of Ferns Ger Nash, and Sruleen parish priest Fr Vincent Fallon. Other concelebrants among the additional 28 priests present were Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell, Bishop of Clogher (mainly Co Monaghan) Larry Duffy, retired bishop of Ferns Denis Brennan, former administrator of Ferns diocese and Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin Eamonn Walsh, and Fr Brian D’Arcy.
Burial took place on Thursday evening at Annyalla cemetery in Co Monaghan.
