THE CATHOLIC Bishop of Derry Séamus Hegarty (71) is to stand down for health reasons. He has submitted a letter of resignation to Pope Benedict XVI and said he hoped this would be accepted.
“Very recently, I received a diagnosis of a condition which is, unfortunately, irreversible and progressive. I am now receiving treatment for this condition,” he said. It meant he was “no longer able to fulfil the role of diocesan bishop due to my medical condition”.
Mindful of canon law requirements “in which a bishop is ‘earnestly requested to offer his resignation’ when, because of illness, he becomes unsuited for the fulfilment of his office”, he submitted a letter of resignation to the Pope in the past few days.
He had “hoped to continue until the age of 75 as diocesan bishop, but my medical condition is such that I have an obligation to submit my resignation. Due to my condition, I will have to scale back on my duties while the Holy Father considers my letter of resignation,” he said.
He hoped “my resignation will be accepted. It is my intention to maintain a pastoral ministry, to the extent that I am able, into the future.”
Ordained in 1966, Bishop Hegarty had been bishop of Raphoe from 1982 to November 1994, when he was installed as bishop of Derry. In recent years, he has faced questions concerning his handling of clerical child sex abuse allegations, particularly in Raphoe. He said he would welcome a statutory inquiry into the handling of such allegations there.
A report on the handling of such abuse allegations by church authorities in Raphoe has been completed by the Catholic Church’s child protection watchdog, its National Board for Safeguarding Children.
Such reports by the board have been completed where six Catholic dioceses are concerned. These may be published only with the assent of the relevant bishop and it is understood that has been forthcoming where all six are concerned. The reports are expected to be published in coming weeks.
Bishop Hegarty’s immediate predecessor in Derry diocese, Bishop Edward Daly, who himself stood down for health reasons in 1994, expressed shock at yesterday’s announcement, though aware that Bishop Hegarty “had been in indifferent health for some time”. Bishop Hegarty was “prudent and wise to submit his resignation if he did not feel able any longer to continue in his episcopal responsibility”, he said.
Bishop Hegarty’s offer to resign is but the latest from an Irish Catholic bishop. Three others have done so recently as they are over 75, when a bishop must offer his resignation. These are Bishop Colm O’Reilly of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, Bishop Christopher Jones of Elphin and Bishop Bill Murphy of Kerry.
Meanwhile there continue to be vacancies in Limerick, following the resignation of Bishop Donal Murray, and at Kildare Leighlin following the resignation of Bishop Jim Moriarty, both in December 2009 following publication of the Murphy report.
Cloyne has been vacant since Bishop John Magee’s resignation in March 2010. Seven of Ireland’s 26 Catholic dioceses await a new bishop. There is speculation that the Vatican may use such vacancies as an opportunity to amalgamate some Irish dioceses and so reduce their number overall.
It has been pointed out that the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, with an equivalent Catholic population to that of the island of Ireland, about 4.5 million, has one cardinal archbishop and six auxiliary bishops. Ireland, currently, has a cardinal archbishop, three other archbishops, 18 bishops, and five auxiliary bishops. In total, that is 27 Irish bishops to the seven in Los Angeles for a similar population.
