Irish bishop resigns due to ill health

Irish bishop resigns due to ill health

Pope Francis on Tuesday accepted the resignation of bishop William Lee whom the Catholic Church in Ireland said was stepping down for health reasons.

A bishop follows a Profession of Faith with the Bishops of the Italian Episcopal Conference led by the pontiff on May 23, 2013 in St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican

The Holy See said Lee was relieved of his functions under paragraph 2 of article 401 of the Code of Canon Law, which covers resignations on health grounds as well as offences linked to the handling of child abuse cases and corruption.

In a story on October 1, AFP erroneously linked Lee's resignation to his handling of a complaint of child sex abuse made against a priest dating back to 1993.

Sources close to the Vatican said Lee is suffering from cancer.

Cardinal Sean Brady, the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, said Lee was standing down because of "ill health".

Lee himself said in a statement on Tuesday: "As you are aware in July 2011 I was diagnosed with serious illness and, since diagnosis, I have been under medical care.

"Recently the medical advice to me has been that, in the interests of my health, I should retire from the office of Bishop of Waterford and Lismore.

"Accordingly, I have in the past few weeks submitted my letter of resignation... to Pope Francis. The Holy Father has considered my request and graciously accepted my resignation."

In the 1990s, faced with complaints against a priest shortly after he was appointed bishop, Lee arranged for him to undergo a specialist assessment.

But he failed to remove the priest from ministry until 1995 and further complaints against the same priest emerged a year later.

In 2010, Lee said he had reviewed his earlier decisions in the case in the light of advice on child sexual abuse "and concluded that these had been seriously inadequate."

He added: "I particularly regretted that I had not sought the immediate withdrawal of the priest from all ministry and that others associated with the new ministry were not informed that allegations had been made.

"I sincerely apologise and am deeply sorry for the inadequacies of my earlier actions in this case."

Ireland, a predominantly Catholic country, has been rocked by a string of official reports on child sex abuse stretching back decades, and on Church leaders' complicity in covering it up.

But Lee's diocese was praised by child protection inspectors in a report last year.

The National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland acknowledged the "very positive work" in safeguarding children that was taking place in Waterford and Lismore.

It praised the bishop for his "personal commitment, leadership and absolute desire to keep children safe".

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