Priest risks defrocking if he continues celebrating Mass
Offaly-born Fr Michael Kennedy, parish priest of Dunhill in the diocese of Waterford and Lismore, was suspended from the ministry following allegations against him in 2003.
Since then the Director of Public Prosecutions confirmed that he would not be proceeding with any charges against Fr Kennedy, but church authorities have continued an internal investigation into the allegations.
Following the allegations, Fr Kennedy was absent from the diocese for a considerable period.
He returned earlier this year against Church instructions and continues to celebrate Mass.
The Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, Most Rev Dr William Lee, said yesterday he did not wish to discuss individual cases.
“I wish to state, however, that when making a decision regarding the ministry, I have a responsibility to take whatever action I deem necessary, guided by appropriate procedures, professional advice, and all information at my disposal,” he said.
The most high profile controversy Fr Kennedy became embroiled in was in Dungarvan a decade ago when he told shocked congregations at Masses in St Mary’s Parish Church that a woman who was HIV-positive slept with up to 60 men in a deliberate attempt to infect as many of them as possible with the virus.
Fr Kennedy is a distant cousin of the late US President John F Kennedy.
He celebrated the funeral Mass of 39-year-old Robert F Kennedy, who was killed in a skiing accident in Colorado, and he also recited the prayers of the dying at the bedside of President Kennedy’s mother, Rose, at the family home at Hyannisport outside Boston, just hours before she passed away.
Fr Kennedy also celebrated Masses at the family home after John F Kennedy Jnr’s plane disappeared on July 16, 1999.
He retains close links with the family.
