THE REMAINS of disgraced priest Bishop Eamonn Casey have been removed from Galway Cathedral and given to his family.
Bishop Casey, who was interred in the cathedral's crypt following his death in 2017, had served as Bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh from 1976 until 1992.
His episcopacy ended after he admitted having an affair that produced a son and subsequently using church funds to pay for the child's maintenance.
However, following his death, an RTÉ documentary revealed that Bishop Casey had also been the subject of sexual abuse allegations, including from his own niece.
Private resting place
On Saturday, a statement from the Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora said it began to consider whether Bishop Casey's remains should stay in the crypt after the RTÉ documentary aired.
"Last July, the Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora issued a statement noting that the continued resting of the mortal remains of Bishop Eamonn Casey in the crypt of the Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas, Galway was a deeply felt matter that affected many people in different ways," read the statement.
"An appeal for time and space was made to allow for appropriate reflection and consultation.
"The Diocese would like to thank everyone for their understanding of the situation, for their patience and for their respect as this process was undertaken and brought to a conclusion.
"Significant consensus emerged around the unique role of a Cathedral as a place of unity rather than division, healing rather than hurt and peace rather than disquiet.
"Now, with the assent and cooperation of members of the late Bishop Eamonn's family and following prayers for the dead, his mortal remains have been moved from the Cathedral Crypt and entrusted to their care.
"It is their express wish that the arrangements they have made for Bishop Eamonn's final resting place remain private.
"The members of Bishop Eamonn's family involved ask that their earnest desire for privacy be respected at this time.
"We pray that God will continue to draw all those who have been affected by this matter into his healing love."
Investigation
Bishop Casey was born in Co. Kerry in 1927 and studied for the priesthood at Maynooth.
He served as a chaplain in London before becoming Bishop of Kerry in 1969 and was translated to Galway in 1976.
He resigned after news of his affair broke in 1992 and after time spent in a monastery in the US, he carried out missionary work in Ecuador for six years.
Bishop Casey later worked in England before retiring and returning to Galway in 2006.
He was admitted to a nursing home in Co. Clare in 2011 and passed away in 2017.
Last year's RTÉ documentary, produced as part of an investigation with the Irish Mail on Sunday, looked into the Vatican's handling of allegations against Bishop Casey.
It revealed that he had been removed from public ministry by the Vatican in 2007 following allegations that included child abuse.
According to the documentary, the first allegation was made against Bishop Casey in 2001 while he was working in Britain as a curate in the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton.
It also included an interview with his niece, who alleged that she had been raped by the bishop from the age of five.
The documentary, Bishop Casey's Hidden Secrets, reported that despite the Galway diocese saying in 2019 that it had received only one allegation of child sexual abuse against Bishop Casey, there were in fact five on record at that time.
It also revealed that the Diocese of Limerick paid a settlement of more than €100,000 to one of the bishop's accusers after his death.
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