Having considered Dermo’s legacy earlier in the week, let’s consider his potential replacement.
As he leaves, Dermo’s legacy is becoming clearer.
On the PLUS side is his handling of CSA.
On the CONS side are:
1. His disastrous relationship with the Dublin clergy.
2. His Big Spender behaviour and his gabit of selling off church property way short of market value.
So it looks as if his replacement will have to
1. Heal the relationship that priests have with AB house.
2. Mend all the broken finances.
Those two projects will be enough to keep any new AB occupied for years.
So who are the runners?
PAUL TIGHE
I think that Paul Tighe would be a bad choice. He is a long time personal friend of DM’s and DM will have complained to him about the disastrous priests of Dublin.
Tighe would be as cold as DM.
BRENDAN LEAHY
Leahy is a Dublin priest. I don’t think that he has the charisma or presence to be the archbishop of Dublin. He would be a friendly face but lacks substance.
KEVIN DORAN
Kevin believes that being Gay is like having Downs Syndrome.
PHONSIE CULLINAN
Phonsie’s name has come up as a contender. Handing Dublin to Phonsie would be madness. Phonsie is an Opus Dei Catholic and is quite mad when it comes to social and sexual matters.
ALAN MC GUCKIAN
Alan has been spoken of as an outsider. But he is 67. Recently he has failed victims of abuse in Raphoe. He has also become somewhat austere.
LEONARD MALONEY SJ
The Irish provincial has been mentioned. Like Francis he is an SJ. But I had dealings with him with regard Paul Prior and the SJs and discovered that he does not acknowledge or reply to letters and emails. That smacks of of arrogance and contempt.
A DUBLIN PRIEST?
Maybe Dublin priests could suggest a Dublin priest that might make a good archbishop?
Mind you, the precedent for that is not good. Dermot Ryan went from priest to archbishop and turned out to be a proper arrogant and ignorant bugger.
I was his aide de camp on the day he was installed as archbishop in 1972 and he treated me like dirt.
So who will succeed DM?
And will he just be another disaster who will continue to preside over the managed decline of the RCC in Ireland?
DERMO NOT ATTENDING MONSIGNOR CONWAY’S FUNERAL.
I was very surprised to see that DM did not attend and preside at the funeral of Monsignor Seamus the former PP of Booterstown yesterday morning.
I do know that he attended the reception of the remains on Thursday evening. But I don’t think that is good enough.
Seamus Conway had given 57 years service to the archdiocese of Dublin.
He had even been the Vicar General for a short time.
He had served in parishes, seminaries and prisons.
I think that every priest deserves that his bishop preside at his funeral.
Of course, it makes sense for a priest friend of the deceased to preach the homily.
But for the bishop to be absent from the funeral of a priest, except for the gravest of reasons, in my opinion is unforgivable!
BISHOP PAT BUCKLEY 