This article is from page 14 of the 2007-03-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
DESPITE intense local speculation to the contrary, Dr Eamon Casey did not return to say Mass in the small south Galway village of Shanaglish over the weekend.
Dr Casey had been expected to take to the alter in Shanaglish for 10am Mass last Sunday, just over a year since he returned from his self imposed exile in the UK in February of 2006,
Dr Casey has been given the official go ahead by the Vatican to return to
saying Mass in public following the completion of an official church in- vestigation into 13 allegations made by Limerick born woman in 2005. Following an investigation, the D1- rector of Public Prosecutions decided in August of last year that Dr Casey had no case to answer in relation to the incidents, which were alleged to have taken place some 30 years ago. Despite been cleared by the DPP, Dr Casey had to wait for the conclusion of the internal church investigation before he returned to active duty. Despite Dr Casey’s no-show, a
large crowd gathered for 10am Mass in Shanaglish on Sunday morning.
Interestingly, the main reading de- livered by local parish priest, Fr Pad- dy Callanan, was that of the Prodigal York
This was followed by a sermon on the topic of forgiveness in which Fr Callanan spoke at length about God’s willingness to forgive.
It is expected that Dr Casey will re- turn to the day-to-day duties of say- ing Mass in the coming weeks, but he is likely to wait for a time in order to avoid excess media attention.
Dr Casey was appointed Bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh and apos- tolic administrator of Kilfenora in alee
Aes OU MRE IHN eres maUllout can woman, Annie Murphy, became public in 1992, Dr Casey resigned as Bishop of Galway and left Ireland to become a missionary in Ecuador be- fore eventually returning to the UK.