[Catholic Caucus] Newly Appointed Irish Bishop Oversaw Decline of Maynooth

Church Militant ^ | January 4, 2018 | Stephen Wynne

[ebb tide]

A former head of Maynooth, Ireland's scandal-ridden national seminary, is being rewarded with a promotion.

The Vatican announced Wednesday that Msgr. Dermot Farrell will be the new bishop of Ossory, one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan archdiocese of Dublin.

Faithful Irish Catholics are regarding the appointment as one to watch, owing to Bishop-Elect Farrell's particular relationship with St. Patrick's College, Maynooth — a seminary infested with homosexuality and heterodoxy.

Monsignor Farrell was awarded a licentiate in theology at Maynooth in 1981. Eight years later, he was named lecturer in moral theology at the national seminary. While continuing to instruct seminarians, in 1990, he was appointed executive assistant to the college president, Msgr. Micheál Ledwith, his cousin.

Within three years, he'd advanced to become seminary vice president, and in 1996, he ascended to the presidency

, where he remained for the next 11 years before transferring to the diocese of Meath to serve as vicar general.

St. Patrick's College, Maynooth

Notably, Msgr. Farrell's appointment is being cheered by Meath Bp. Michael Smith, a conservative stand-out among Ireland's prelates. Lauding his vicar general's "fidelity, energy and commitment," Bp. Smith recalled the monsignor "initiated new pastoral programmes and renewed the parish churches and schools in one of the largest and most rapidly developing parishes in the diocese of Meath." 

But the monsignor's appointment as bishop will be scrutinized by the country's committed Catholics.

Under his leadership, Maynooth sank into steep decline. Farrell presided over the "revision" of the seminary's formation program and its subsequent collapse in vocations. He allowed dissident American theologian Fr. Charles Curran

to speak at a conference celebrating the work of liberal theologian Fr. Enda McDonagh. During the monsignor's tenure, faithful seminarians were persecuted and driven out, while a flourishing homosexual subculture scandalized the country.  

It is reasonable ... to ask what did he know about the depraved behavior of his cousin, and what action did he take to end it?Tweet

More troubling is his association with Msgr. Ledwith.

As far back as 1983, faithful seminarians began lodging complaints

against Ledwith, voicing grave concerns over "their seminary training, Msgr. Ledwith's allegedly extravagant lifestyle and his alleged sexual orientation and propensity."

Father Gerard McGinnity, senior dean at St Patrick's College, voiced support for the seminarians. In 1984, he was demoted to curate; later, he alleged the reduction was punishment for breaking ranks with Ledwith.  

Micheál Ledwith, former priest and president of Maynooth

That same year, Ledwith was accused of sexually harassing junior colleagues and of sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy.

A massive cover-up by Maynooth and the country's bishops followed. But owing to ongoing allegations of sexual impropriety, the disgraced monsignor resigned from Maynooth in 1994. In 2005, Rome dismissed

 him from the priesthood.

Bishop-elect Farrell served directly under Ledwith for four years. Some faithful Irish Catholics wonder, therefore, about the possibility of complicity. One told Church Militant Wednesday, "It is reasonable ... to ask what did he know about the depraved behavior of his cousin, and what action did he take to end it?"

Significantly, a number of Irish press reports

suggest Farrell shared the bishops' masking mindset

 and refused to expose his cousin. 

Ireland, once one of the great pillars of the Church, is suffering through a crisis of faith and fidelity unparalleled in its history, with heterodox bishops the catastrophe's custodians. Now, the faithful Catholics of Ossory — and all Ireland — wait to see if Bishop-elect Farrell will be more of the same.

[spintreebob]

Sounds like a copy of the Niles-Mundelein Seminary situation in the formerly largest Archdiocese in the US and the one that raises the most donations for the church, all the while promoting very non-Biblical behavior.

[PraiseTheLord]

Interesting ... I was just at ChurchServices attending a Mass like I frequently do — a late one at Clonard on Thursdays, 4pm here and 9pm there -———

was reading their news and saw this new Bp appointment. Made me wonder what could be wrong with him that caught the eye of Popey. Their article gave not the slightest hint of there being anything wrong. https://www.churchservices.tv/catholicireland-news/136688

WELLLLL reading THIS now I get it :(

[marshmallow]

Another "pink palace".

Francis has gone on record as saying that he "worries" when he sees religious orders with plentiful vocations so the fact that Maynooth is almost empty likely pleases him and probably explains why he's made Farrell a bishop.

A full seminary would not amuse Francis who spectacularly emptied his own seminary in Buenos Aires.

[ebb tide]

Thanks for the link.

[ebb tide]

Maybe that's why Blaze (sp intentional) Cupich is another favorite of Francis.

…….The seminary situation is noteworthy, since prior to Cupich’s arrival, it was thriving, with over two dozen seminarians. Following the removal in 2011 of Fr. Darrin Connall, co-director of vocations and rector of the seminary since 2000, the number of seminarians has fallen to less than a half dozen.[So, go figure – progressive bishop comes to town and in 3 1/2 years wrecks 20 years of work and destroys the seminary. It is so much easier to destroy than to build] In addition, Kries notes that Cupich “had no interest in involving himself” in “direction of Gonzaga’s core curriculum,” a statement confirmed by others with direct knowledge of the situation at the Jesuit school, which has, to put it simply, been shedding its Catholic identity with determined efficiency (as Kries describes)……..

The real scoop on Archbishop Blaise Cupich of Chicago

Francis transferred Cupich to Chicago in 2014 and elevated him to a cardinal in 2016 as a reward.

[marshmallow]

Thanks for the link.

What a piece of work he is!

[IrishBrigade]

‘a seminary infested with homosexuality and heterodoxy.’

in other words, a typical post Vat II seminary...