The late Bishop Emeritus of Killaloe Dr Willie Walsh was a radical and effective crusader who was not afraid of “challenging the system”, his funeral Mass heard.
At a packed St Peter and Paul Cathedral in Ennis on Monday, the current Bishop of Killaloe Fintan Monahan told mourners that “Willie was a radical in the true sense of the word”.
He said: “He challenged unquestioned beliefs, the accepted mores of society and in doing so stripped them back to their origin, measuring them up against what he believed was the core of the Gospel, Cineáltas Chríost, the gentleness of Christ.
“Being frequently outspoken, he stirred things up. This sometimes ruffled feathers, was occasionally misunderstood, upset a few and others saw it as an effort to overturn hard earned orthodoxy.”
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Bishop Monahan said said he “was a profound and effective crusader” in an understated, yet very effective way and won people over “to genuine Christian values through kindness, understanding, listening, generosity, care for the poor, the marginalised, people struggling and suffering in life”.
He said that “Bishop Willie did this through his unstinting work with the Travelling community, his pastoral outreach to survivors of abuse, the sick, the vulnerable, so many who availed of his spiritual outreach as a true pastor of Jesus Christ”.
[ Former bishop of Killaloe Willie Walsh was ahead of his time in Catholic ChurchOpens in new window ]
Recognised by survivors’ campaign group One in Four as having taken a lead in addressing clerical sex abuse scandals, Dr Walsh was at odds with the church leadership on several issues. He publicly disagreed with its ban on artificial means of contraception, felt the celibacy rule for priests should not be mandatory, favoured women priests, and was always publicly supportive of gay people despite traditional church teaching.
Dr Walsh died suddenly at his Ennis home last Wednesday evening just weeks after celebrating his 90th birthday. He served as Bishop of Killaloe from 1994 to 2010.
Dr Walsh was the last surviving member of his immediate family and was predeceased by his parents Ellen and William, brothers Joe, Eddie and John and his sisters Maura and Catherine.
At the end of theMass, his niece Miriam Burke expressed thanks to those who had mourned his loss with the family.
“Whilst we loved Uncle Willie as a member of our family, we were always aware that we shared him with another family – the family of Killaloe diocese and the extended family nationwide”.
She said: “It is very clear to us that your sense of loss mirrors our own. Willie would not have wanted us to dwell on our loss but rather to celebrate his life and a life that was lived with purpose, joy, generosity and above all humility. We have much to celebrate and much to learn from the example of his life.”
Members of the public turned out in large numbers on Monday and Sunday afternoon at the cathedral to pay their respects to the Roscrea native who first came to Ennis in 1947 where he entered St Flannan’s College as a boarding student.
Dr Walsh – who celebrated being a priest 66 years this month – was to remain in Ennis for the rest of his life apart from periods spent in Maynooth, Rome and Galway on his studies.
Bishop Monahan received a letter on February 22nd from the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin to say His Holiness Pope Francis “was saddened to learn of the death of Bishop Emeritus William Walsh”.
The letter – which was also signed by the Papal Nuncio to Ireland, Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemayor – reads that “recalling with gratitude the kind and gentle way which he carried out his many years of episcopal Ministry, his Holiness commends the late Bishop’s soul to the mercy of Christ the Good Shepherd”.
Burial took place on the grounds of St Peter and Paul Cathedral close to the plot of the late Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Michael Harty whom Dr Walsh succeeded as Bishop in 1994.
