Support among members of clergy and laity in the Dioceses of Meath and Kildare where the bishop-elect, Ven. Leslie Stevenson was compelled to stand down days before his consecration, has increased, with the backing of Roman Catholics in his home parish of Portarlington, Co. Laois. – Greg Ryan reports in this week’s Church Times
Mr Ryan continues – The actions of three members of the House of Bishops, including the Archbishop of Dublin Dr. Michael Jackson who turned up at Mr. Stevenson’s rectory hours after a rehearsal for the consecration and resulted in the bishop-elect withdrawing his acceptance of the nomination, has been severely criticised; Dr. Jackson admitted in a statement on Friday (May 3rd) that although the bishops expressed their personal concern for the Archdeacon and his family in the situation of escalating distress as a result of intense media and other interest, their visitation was not at the behest of the House of Bishops.
The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate, Dr. Richard Clarke said Archdeacon Stevenson’s decision had come as a shock to many within the Church as a whole, and beyond, but many inaccurate statements were made publicly which were not factual.
“At a time when prayer and reflection were called for, incorrect statements of fact and unfounded allegations have caused much hurt and distress. As Primate, I am concerned there appears to have been a rush to judgment by some in the Church and beyond, distorting facts and attempting to rewrite past events. This has added to the concern and pain of many people.”
Another electoral college is due to meet before the end of May. There is growing speculation that the college may re-endorse their original choice but it is not known whether Mr. Stevenson would be prepared to accept again.
What is clear, however, is that the anger in the parishes which make up the Dioceses has not abated, and the affair will have cast a long shadow over the General Synod of the church which opened in Armagh yesterday (Thursday May 9th). A comment from a senior cleric in Northern Ireland summed it all up: “Strange isn’t it – that of all institutions the Church seems to be the most unforgiving? I always thought that God was more concerned about our future prospects than our past failures … Paul , Augustine etc.”
For others, a major issue is whether the Church can reassert itself, in the words of another serving priest, “as truly representative of the Body of Christ and not the tool of a few irresponsible bigots, vested political or personal interests, nor indeed be led by the agendas of gutter news reporting”.