VOTF CALLS BISHOP MAGEE’S DEPARTURE
A FINE EXAMPLE OF ACCOUNTABILITY

Voice of the Faithful welcomes the departure and suggests that other bishops complicit in similar failures should follow Bishop Magee's example.

March 10, 2009 – Boston –The Vatican has now intervened in the Irish sex abuse scandal by obtaining the resignation of administrative responsibilities by Bishop John Magee of Cloyne. This is the type of accountability needed to address ongoing fallout from the crime of sex abuse and the cover-ups that so often were enabled by the hierarchy. We at Voice of the Faithful ask that bishops in the United States and across the globe consider this action when evaluating their own involvement in the sexual abuse crisis. 

Bishop Magee came under fire back in December when he was criticized by the Irish church’s National Board for Safeguarding Children for the handling of two Cloyne priests accused of abusing children.  It was just a few months ago when Voice of the Faithful in the United States joined the efforts of our brothers and sisters in Ireland to request that Pope Benedict and church leaders everywhere hold accountable those clerics who either abused children or who covered up the abuse, which often enabled further abuse to occur.

We are pleased to hear that Pope Benedict and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, in statements to the Irish press also seek accountability: “We have to have a system whereby people are pushed to be accountable. Human nature needs that.”

We hope this event signals the beginnings of a new era of accountability for the Catholic Church. 

We also hope Bishop John Magee’s actions of stepping down from his position provides an example of accountability for bishops everywhere. As Voice of the Faithful suggested in January, Church leaders worldwide should examine their consciences and then resign if they see that their actions or inactions endangered children by exposing them to sexual predators among the clergy. 

For more information about the Call for Resignations and VOTF in Ireland, please email Jessica at votfpr@votf.org or call 617-558-5252

Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) is a lay organization formed in 2002 in response to the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church.  It started in the basement of a church in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and has since expanded worldwide with more than 150 Parish Voice affiliates and 30,000 members.  The entire organization is committed to helping the Catholic Church.