Waterford bishop stands down over health concerns

A bishop who was praised earlier this year for his “strong leadership” and “very positive work” by the child safety watchdog for the Catholic Church has decided to resign for health reasons.

Bishop William Lee, 72, of Waterford and Lismore has confirmed he submitted a letter of resignation to Pope Francis in recent weeks and the Pope yesterday accepted his resignation.

The bishop will remain living in Waterford and has said he wants to help out in the diocese, if possible. It could take months for a successor to be appointed.

Bishop Lee’s resignation means there are now three vacancies at the head of Irish dioceses — with Waterford and Lismore joining Elphin and Derry.

“In July 2011 I was diagnosed with serious illness and, since diagnosis, I have been under medical care,” Bishop Lee said in a statement yesterday.

“This has impacted greatly on my health and ministry. Recently the medical advice to me has been that, in the interests of my health, I should retire from the office of Bishop of Waterford and Lismore. Even though I found the time since diagnosis quite demanding, I had hoped that I would be able to continue in office and looked forward to doing so. Now, my doctors have advised otherwise.”

He has come to this decision with “reluctance and sadness”, he said, having been bishop of the diocese for more than 20 years.

“It is a long time and you [priests and people of the diocese] have been very patient with my shortcomings. My years as bishop have been so fulfilling and, as well, very challenging.”

In a review published earlier this year on the Waterford and Lismore diocese, the National Body for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church said Bishop Lee had shown “strong leadership” and carried out “very positive work” in child safeguarding.

At the launch of that report last April, Bishop Lee told reporters he did not think an issue which arose in 2010 was a resigning matter.

Three years ago he apologised when it emerged that, in the mid-1990s, he had taken two years to report allegations of abuse made against one of the diocesan priests. Earlier this year, at the launch of the Waterford and Lismore diocesan review by the safeguarding children body, he said he “didn’t think at all that it was a resigning matter”.

It was revealed in 2010 that a psychiatrist reported in 1993 that a priest in the diocese, who was the subject of abuse allegations, could safely work with children and was moved to a new ministry.

Bishop Lee eventually reported the matter to gardaí in 1995 and removed the priest from ministry. The complainants decided against making a criminal complaint.

Originally from Newport in North Tipperary, William Lee was ordained a priest in 1966 and is a former president of St Patrick’s College in Thurles.