CANON WILLIAM CREAN, the parish priest of Cahirciveen, has been appointed Bishop of Cloyne by Pope Benedict XVI.
Born in Tralee in 1951, he was ordained in 1976 and holds a diploma in Religious Education.
Archbishop of Cashel and Emly Dermot Clifford has welcomed the appointment of Canon Crean, calling him a “holy and hard-working pastor”, while Cardinal Seán Brady has said that his appointment “augurs well for the Year of Faith”.
In an address the Bishop-elect has said he has learned of the appointment “with joy yet considerable trepidation” and that he is “concious of his limitations”:
I have no illusions about the myriad challenges that the Church in Ireland faces. Yet I remain hopeful and steadfast.
As I accept this appointment you will appreciate that I feel apprehensive – because I am deeply conscious of the trauma of these years past – so much suffering endured by young people at the hands of a few – sufferings compounded by the failure of those who didn’t believe them and those who didn’t hear their cry for help.
Today I commit myself to do all that I can with others in the diocese to continue to bring healing and new hope to the lives of all victims of abuse and their families. One thing I ask, however, is your patience to allow me time to grasp the full measure of this deep hurt.
The Cloyne Report, which was published last July, detailed how the Catholic Church and the state authorities dealt with allegations of abuse in the diocese between 1996 and 2000.
The report was highly critical of former bishop John Magee, and said that he had ignored the appropriate guidelines.
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