THE CONTINUING suspension by Catholic Church authorities of Bishop Eamon Casey (81) from saying Mass in public has been described as "a disgrace and a scandal" by Fr James Good.
He was himself similarly treated by the church when he disagreed with Pope Paul VI's Humanae Vitaeencyclical of 1968, which banned Catholics from using artificial means of contraception.
In August 2006 the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) decided he would not be bringing any charges against Bishop Casey following a Garda investigation into 13 allegations made against him concerning incidents that a woman claimed had taken place in Ireland more than 30 years previously. The woman had made similar unproven claims against others.
A separate internal inquiry by the church into the allegations, made in November 2005, was expected to be completed within weeks of the DPP's announcement, church sources said at the time. In other such cases church investigations have been completed very shortly after such a DPP announcement, and the accused has been allowed resume full ministry.
"It is a disgrace and a scandal in the church that he [Bishop Casey] should be suffering from the ultimate penalty that can be imposed on a priest - being 'silenced' and forbidden to act publicly as a priest. Having experienced such unjust suspension in my own life, I appreciate the suffering and humiliation which it entails," Fr Good told The Irish Times.
He continued: "I have noticed a universal feeling of warm affection for Eamon Casey among ordinary Irish people today . . . It is time for the authorities in the church to show the world the forgiveness of Christ by forgiving Eamon Casey and cancelling the suspension which should never have been imposed in the first place."