Vatican City, May 6, 2010 / 08:17 am
The Holy See has accepted the resignations of the Irish bishops Francis Lagan, auxiliary of Derry, and Joseph Duffy of the Diocese of Clogher in line with traditional canon law procedure upon having reached the age of retirement. The resignations come as buzz about a restructuring of the Catholic Church of Ireland is becoming ever more audible.
The Pope accepted the Irish bishops’ resignations along with that of the Bishop Francis Folorunsho Clement Alonge of the Diocese of Ondo, Nigeria, according to a statement from the Holy See’s Press Office on Thursday.
Bishops are requested under canon law to offer their resignations to the Holy Father upon turning 75 years old. According to Canon 401,1 the Pope takes the circumstances of the resignation into consideration and makes a decision on whether or not to accept the resignation in due course.
For Bishop Duffy, the process took over a year, while Bishop Lagan’s papers were processed after just six months. Two other Irish bishops have reached the age limit and are waiting for the Pope to give them the final word.