A good and saintly bishop who has stood up and faced the truth

THOSE who watched RTÉ’s Prime Time last Tuesday must have been moved beyond the point of tears by the genuine and heartfelt words expressed by Bishop Eamonn Walsh and by the obvious sincerity and the deep sorrow which he expressed so nobly and honestly in his apology to the many persons who suffered clerical abuse in the diocese of Ferns over a span of 40 years.

I am convinced he must have felt during his lengthy investigation that he had come face-to-face with a vision of hell. It surely was not an easy task.

Bishop Walsh is a good man, a saintly man, an honourable man someone who is prepared to stand up and state the truth. It was obvious that he was emotionally overcome by the task that none of us would have wished on our worst enemy.