The Papal Nuncio to the UK, His Grace ++ Menini, has made a statment on this today.
He says that all of these diocese:
- St Andrews & Edinburgh (Cardinal O’Briens former archdiocese)
- Dunkeld
- Paisley (where ++Tartaglia left to take over in Glasgow)
Will have a new Bishop very soon - probably “next month”, which I presume is June.
This is good news and hopefully a replacement for Bishop Devine (of Motherwell) will be found soon too.
++Menini also praised the undoubted good which Cardinal O’Brien did in his role, before his disgrace, which I felt was a nice touch. The Cardinals behaviour was wrong, but he was a weak man, not a bad man and we should not forget the good work he did for others.
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-22717951
+Devines going is a move which will cause gossip. He actually resigned last year, August (his 75th b/day), and had agreed to stay on until a new Bishop was found.
That the Vatican prefers him to go now, to be replaced by an administrator - not a new Bishop, yet - suggests that the CDF are giving Scotland a thorough spring-clean. I daresay thats needed. The official line is that he is ill, which may well be the case.
However, a priest of +Devines diocese, Fr Mathew Despard, has written a book naming various priests whom he says have been involved in homosexual cliques and inappropriate behaviour. When it first came out, +Devine was going to have Despard thrown out the priesthood, but then - inexplicably - he backed down and is still to make any official comment on what the book says. It seems he will now leave office without having commented on the book.
+Devines departure represents the last passing of a generation of Bishops in Scotland who have collectively - sadly - been a failure. In the last 20 years or so, the Church has declined and lost ground in Scotland. The revelations about the personal conduct of some men help us understand, to some extent, why this has been so.
I pray that the new Bishops scotland will get will be bolder, more orthodox and loyal Bishops with a higher degree of personal integrity to avoid any new scandals.
I would not be surprised if some of the new Bishops are imported to Scotland from elsewhere. I actually think that would be a good thing.
In any case, I wish Bishop Devine a happy retirement. It was Bishop Devine who confirmed me, in St Augustines Church, Coatbridge, Scotland, many years ago now.
And the USA is not far behind.
