THE future of Bishop Eamonn Casey, the former bishop of Galway who resigned after revelations that he had a 17-yearold son in the United States. was at the centre of discussions between his fellow Irish bishops and Vatican officials this week.
The Irish bishops, visiting Rome on their five-yearly ad limina meeting with Pope John Paul II, said that Bishop Casey had never sought to excuse his actions over the affair which led to his downfall, but that "what he is suffering is out of all proportion to what he did".
The bishops hoped that Bishop Casey's wish to work in the foreign missions would be considered by the Vatican's Congregation of Bishops, which oversees the work of "retired" bishops.