The former Bishop of Ferns and Clontibret native, Brendan Comiskey is being remembered as a 'tireless worker'.
The 89 year old died this week after withdrawing from public life after the
publication of the damning Ferns Report. Brendan Comiskey was born in 1935 in Clontibret, Co.Monaghan and was the youngest of a family of 10. He became a priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and became auxillary bishop of Dublin in 1979. Following this he was appointed to the diocese of Ferns. Bishop Comiskey resigned following the findings of the Ferns Report into child sex abuse in 2002. He resigned over claims that he didn't report allegations that Fr Sean Fortune had abused a number of children. The Monaghan native retreated from public life following the publication of the damning report which outlined a catalogue of child sex abuse in the diocese over a period of forty years.
Speaking on the Joe Finnegan Show, Irish Independent journalist Sarah MacDonald pointed out the creator of the BBC documentary "suing the pope" said that Bishop Comiskey wasn't solely responsible for the cover up
The former Bishop's funeral mass will take place on Thursday May 1st at 1 pm in the Church of the Sacred Heart, St Johns Drive, Clondalkin, Dublin. Burial afterwards in Annyalla Cemetery. Meanwhile Bishops from across the country have been paying tribute to the former Ferns Bishop. Current Bishop of Ferns Ger Nash says he was a tireless worker and very innovative in his approach. Archbishop Eamon Martin also paid tribute to Bishop Comiskey saying he sought to build constructive relationships with those in other Christian traditions through his work on the Bishops' Commission for Ecumenism. While Archbishop Dermot Farrell referred to his decision to resign as ' one that necessitated both courage and strength; his words communicated both his humility, and the painful discovery of the reality of abuse, and its long-lasting consequences'.
