A FORMER Roman Catholic priest who is now married was yesterday named as Dean elect of Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin.
The Venerable Dermot Dunne (49) is the current archdeacon of Ferns, and will succeed the late Very Rev Desmond Harman, who died in December.
In a frank question and answer session following the announcement of his appointment, Archdeacon Dunne acknowledged that he had differed with the Catholic Church on several issues.
These included human sexuality, marriage, the ordination of women and its belief in an "intrinsic link" between priestly celibacy and an ordained ministry.
While he views celibacy as a "very sacred vocation", unlike the Catholic Church he believes this and the vocation towards ordained ministry are "two separate things". "It was a question of - I could see the church was going one way and I was going another," he said. "I couldn't preach what I didn't believe myself."
Seated next to his wife, Celia, and the Church of Ireland archbishop of Dublin, Most Rev Dr John Neill, Archdeacon Dunne said he had spent very many "joyful years" as a Catholic priest following his ordination in 1984.
But in time he had "moved sideways" and had taken a flat in London before eventually leaving his Catholic ministry in 1995.
He had already made the decision to leave the Catholic Church when he met Celia Burl in 1995 while on a psychotherapy training course. They married in 1996 in a Church of England ceremony, and returned to Ireland to live in Bray, Co Wicklow. He was licensed as a Church of Ireland priest in 1998.
Originally from the UK, Mrs Dunne is a psychotherapist and practises in Co Wicklow.
"All the time in my years outside the church I felt there was something missing," Archdeacon Dunne said.
"I would say my move was a very personal one . . . I have a great love for the church of my youth."
"So therefore there is no rejection, there is actually a celebration of life, a celebration of movement in the Christian faith because after all I'm not moving out of faith, it's the same Christian spirituality. It's just that I've chosen a different expression of it."
He added that the task facing him in his new role was one of "integration" in relation to a cathedral that is "the beating spiritual heart of Dublin". Archdeacon Dunne will become the 35th dean of Christ Church Cathedral since 1539 when he is installed in May.