Bishop saddened by HSE removal of religious statues
The HSE decision to strip Killarney Community Hospital and St Columbanus Home of statues, holy pictures, crucifixes and other Catholic symbols has provoked an angry reaction from clergy and some local councillors.
Bishop Murphy said the HSE decision had saddened him and the removal of religious objects would not benefit patients.
The patients were elderly, he pointed out, and such symbols of their faith were a source of comfort and consolation to them.
He asked if the HSE also intended banning Christmas cribs and Mass from hospitals.
The issue was first raised by Independent Killarney councillor Brendan Cronin, who described the HSE’s action as a disgrace and called for all the objects to be restored.
People are outraged by the removal of a statue which stood on the front wall of Killarney Community Hospital for more than 70 years.
The HSE said the statue has been taken down for health and safety reasons, adding it intended to find a more suitable location for the statue in the hospital site to ensure it will no longer be a risk.
However, Killarney curate Fr Kevin McNamara yesterday claimed “not a crumb” from the statue had touched anyone since it was first put up in 1939.
“Anyone going in and out of the hospital last Friday, when it was being taken down, would have seen that it took a lot of hard effort to take it down because it was so secure,” he said.
Fr McNamara challenged the HSE to produce a report to show the statue was a danger to the public: “I don’t accept it was a health and safety risk,” he said.
He also said that people of other faiths and no faith, had been “kind and very tolerant” about the presence of Catholic symbols in the hospitals.
The HSE said its policy was show respect for all religious beliefs of patients and staff, as far as possible, and that would continue to be reflected in their facilities.
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