Denis Brennan

Last updated


Denis Brennan

DD
Bishop Emeritus of Ferns
Church Roman Catholic
Diocese Ferns
Appointed1 March 2006
Installed23 April 2006
Term ended11 June 2021
Predecessor Brendan Comiskey
Successor Gerard Nash
Orders
Ordination31 May 1970
Consecration23 April 2006
by  Diarmuid Martin
Personal details
Born (1945-06-20) 20 June 1945 (age 77)
ParentsDenis and Bridget Brennan
Previous post(s)Delegate for child protection at the Diocese of Ferns
Vicar forane for the Wexford deanery
Parish priest of Taghmon
Administrator of St Senan's parish, Enniscorthy
Superior general of the House of Missions, Enniscorthy
MottoRejoice and be glad
Coat of arms Coat of arms of Denis Brennan.svg
Styles of
Denis Brennan
Mitre plain 2.png
Reference style The Most Reverend
Spoken style Your Grace
Religious styleBishop

Denis Brennan (born 20 June 1945) is an Irish former Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Ferns between 2006 and 2021.

Contents

Early life and education

Brennan was born in Springmount, Rathnure, County Wexford on 20 June 1945, the only child of Denis and Bridget Brennan. He attended primary school at Kiltealy National School and secondary school at St Peter’s College, Wexford, before studying for the priesthood at St Peter's College. [1] [2] [3]

He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Ferns on 31 May 1970. [4] [5]

Presbyteral ministry

Following ordination, Brennan became a member of the Missionaries of the Blessed Sacrament at the House of Missions, Enniscorthy in September 1970, conducting missions and retreats in Ireland, Great Britain and Canada. [2]

He was appointed administrator of St Senan's parish, Enniscorthy, in December 1986, during which time he also served as the last superior general of the House of Missions before its closure in 1992. [2]

Brennan was subsequently appointed parish priest of Taghmon in March 1997, and subsequently as diocesan delegate for child protection in December 2000. He also served as vicar forane for the Wexford deanery and a member of the diocesan council of priests. [2]

Brennan had also completed a Doctorate in Divinity and been 11 June appointed a Chaplain of His Holiness. [2] [6]

Episcopal ministry

Brennan was appointed Bishop-elect of Ferns by Pope Benedict XVI on 1 March 2006. [7] [8] [9] He was consecrated by the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, on 23 April in St Aidan's Cathedral, Enniscorthy. In his first address as bishop, he praised the work of the outgoing apostolic administrator, Éamonn Walsh, in bringing justice and healing to victims of clerical sexual abuse in the diocese, saying that the greatest compliment which could be paid to him was "to continue steadfastly in his work of healing and reconciliation". [2] [10]

Clerical sexual abuse scandals

Brennan is regarded by many as having brought stability to the diocese after the publication of the Ferns Report, in which 100 cases of clerical sexual abuse which occurred during the episcopacies of his predecessors, Brendan Comiskey and Donal Herlihy, were disclosed. [11]

In a meeting held on 1 March 2010, he told parishioners that the diocese had had to pay more than 8 million to settle 48 civil actions, while a further thirteen actions were pending. [12]

Brennan also said that a request for financial help from parishioners was not about sharing blame, but about "asking for help to fulfil a God-given responsibility", adding that victims of clerical sexual abuse were not the cause of the diocese's problems, but rather "the actions of individual perpetrators, along with mismanagement, poor understanding and/or lack of resolve": [12]

"The Diocese of Ferns has been on a road involving the settlement of claims for 15 years now. It has been very much a team effort – various administrations and personnel, local diocesan and national church funding. Up to 80 per cent of the road of justice has been travelled. As we look to complete this road, it will be necessary to invite the parishes to become part of the process financially." [12]

While the diocese insisted that weekly collections would not contribute towards redress for victims, it was estimated that €60,000 a year would need to be raised from parishioners over a 20-year period, with the alternative being to sell diocesan assets and properties including the bishop's house in Wexford, the seminary at St Peter's College and agricultural land. The balance was eventually paid through diocesan savings, remortgaging the bishop's house and the raising of a €1.8 million loan, while €2.1 million was also spent on legal fees for abuse inquiries, and €836,000 towards the treatment of paedophile priests. [12]

2010 Vatican summit

Brennan participated in a meeting with Irish bishops, Pope Benedict XVI and senior members of the Roman Curia from 15 to 16 February 2010 to discuss the publication of the Ryan and Murphy reports in 2009. In an interview on Morning Ireland on RTÉ Radio 1 on 17 February, he referred to the meeting as a "watershed moment" that would redefine the relationship between the Church and abuse victims, adding that a number of points regarding the mishandling of abuse cases by Church authorities were made by bishops "very honestly" in the presence of the Pope: [13]

"The Holy Father has heard the many stories of Irish victims and I can also say they have been believed. To have the Holy Father there for a day and a half and the nine heads of the Vatican congregations shows how seriously the Church is taking the issue." [13]

When asked why certain issues such as episcopal resignations and the findings of the Murphy Report were not addressed, Brennan pointed out that the meeting was primarily a briefing session to aid the Pope in his writing of a forthcoming pastoral letter to Catholics in Ireland, and that such issues were not on the agenda. He was responding to criticism from victims groups who expressed disappointment at the failure of the talks to address several issues relating to the Church's handling of clerical sexual abuse cases. [13] [14]

COVID-19 pandemic

In a pastoral letter to the people of the diocese in November 2020, Brennan questioned the imposition of a ban on all public worship in Ireland following the introduction of Level 3 restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, stating that that Ireland was the only country in Europe where such a ban had been imposed was "clearly sufficient reason to revisit the matter, to reassess its necessity and to re-examine its appropriateness, and to consider the positive benefits of its being lifted". [15]

Retirement

In accordance with canon law, Brennan submitted his episcopal resignation to the Dicastery for Bishops on his 75th birthday on 20 June 2020, but was expected to remain in the see until a successor was appointed. [16] [17]

He subsequently remained in the see until the appointment of his successor, Gerard Nash, on 11 June 2021. [18] [19]

Related Research Articles

Brendan Comiskey, is the Roman Catholic Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Ferns. He was born in Clontibret, County Monaghan, Ireland.

Seán Fortune was a Catholic priest from Ireland, and child molester, who allegedly used his position to gain access to his victims. He was accused of the rape and sexual molestation of 29 different boys. He committed suicide while awaiting trial.

The Ferns Report (2005) was an official Irish government inquiry into the allegations of clerical sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns in County Wexford, Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colm O'Gorman</span> Irish activist

Colm O'Gorman is the executive director of Amnesty International Ireland. He is founder and former director of One in Four.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton</span> Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in New Jersey, USA

The Diocese of Trenton is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church that encompasses Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean counties in central New Jersey. The Diocese of Trenton is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Newark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland</span> Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Maine, United States

The Diocese of Portland is an ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church for the entire state of Maine in the United States. it is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Boston.

Micheál Ledwith is a former Catholic priest of the Diocese of Ferns in County Wexford from 1967 to 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns</span> Catholic diocese in Ireland

The Diocese of Ferns is a Roman Catholic diocese in south-eastern Ireland. It is one of three suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin and is subject to the Archdiocese of Dublin. The incumbent Ordinary is Gerard Nash.

Raymond W. Field KC*HS is an Irish former Roman Catholic prelate who served as auxiliary bishop of Dublin between 1997 and 2019.

James Moriarty was an Irish Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin between 2002 and 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael J. Bransfield</span> American bishop, former convicted sex offender

Michael Joseph Bransfield is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Bransfield served as bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia from 2005 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salvatore Ronald Matano</span>

Salvatore Ronald Matano is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as bishop of the Diocese of Rochester in Upstate New York since 2013. Matano previously served as Bishop of Burlington in Vermont from 2005 to 2013.

The sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cloyne was investigated by the Commission of Investigation, Dublin Archdiocese, Catholic Diocese of Cloyne, examining how allegations of sexual abuse of children in the diocese were dealt with by the church and state. The investigation, which resulted in the publication of the Cloyne Report in July 2011, was led by Judge Yvonne Murphy. The inquiry was ordered to look at child protection practices in the diocese and how it dealt with complaints against 19 priests made from 1996.

From the late 1980s, allegations of sexual abuse of children associated with Catholic institutions and clerics in several countries started to be the subject of sporadic, isolated reports. In Ireland, beginning in the 1990s, a series of criminal cases and Irish government enquiries established that hundreds of priests had abused thousands of children over decades. Six reports by the former National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church established that six Irish priests had been convicted between 1975 and 2011. This has contributed to the secularisation of Ireland and to the decline in influence of the Catholic Church. Ireland held referendums to legalise same-sex marriage in 2015 and abortion rights in 2018.

The Murphy Report is the brief name of the report of a Commission of investigation conducted by the Irish government into the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Dublin. It was released in 2009 by Judge Yvonne Murphy, only a few months after the publication of the report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse chaired by Sean Ryan, a similar inquiry which dealt with abuses in industrial schools controlled by Roman Catholic religious institutes.

Éamonn Oliver Walsh is an Irish former Roman Catholic prelate who served as auxiliary bishop of Dublin between 1990 and 2019.

This article summarizes allegations and investigations of child sexual abuse by clergymen in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Limerick, Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liam MacDaid</span> Irish former Roman Catholic prelate (born 1945)

Liam Seán MacDaid is an Irish former Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Clogher between 2010 and 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diocese of Cashel and Ossory</span> Anglican diocese of the Church of Ireland

The United Dioceses of Cashel and Ossory is a diocese of the Church of Ireland in the south-eastern part of Ireland that was formed from a merger of older dioceses in 1977. The diocese is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin.

Gerard Nash is an Irish Catholic bishop. He was appointed Bishop of Ferns on 11 June 2021 and consecrated on 5 September 2021.

References

  1. Byrne, Pádraig (8 August 2020). "Reflecting on a life of devotion" . Wexford People. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Words of Most Rev. Dr. Denis Brennan D.D., Bishop of Ferns on the occasion of his ordination to the Episcopate at St. Aidan's Cathedral, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford". Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference. 23 April 2006. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  3. "Celebration to mark Bishop Denis Brennan's retirement takes place in Wexford". Wexford People. 9 November 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  4. Keane, Brendan (6 June 2020). "Bishop Brennan celebrates 50 years in the priesthood". Wexford People. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  5. Walsh, Oisín (17 February 2021). "Bishop Denis Brennan celebrates his golden jubilee as a priest of Ferns". Catholic News. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  6. McGarry, Patsy (2 March 2006). "First Wexford man in almost 70 years appointed Bishop of Ferns". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  7. "1 March 2006 – Appointment of Reverend Denis Brennan as the Bishop of Ferns". Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference. 1 March 2006. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  8. ó Caollaí, Éanna (1 March 2006). "Pope Benedict appoints new Bishop of Ferns". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  9. "Dr Denis Brennan appointed as new Bishop of Ferns". Irish Examiner. 1 March 2006. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  10. McGarry, Patsy (24 April 2006). "New bishop praises 'healing work' of Ferns predecessor". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  11. The Ferns Report
  12. 1 2 3 4 O'Brien, Carl (3 March 2010). "Diocese may need to sell assets to meet claims". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 Carroll, Steven; Doyle-Kennedy, Eoin (17 February 2010). "Martin hails Vatican talks". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  14. Doyle-Kennedy, Eoin; Siggins, Lorna (18 February 2010). "Resignation of bishops not on agenda, says Brennan". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  15. Walsh, Dan (21 October 2020). ""Only place in Europe where church closure exists,"; Bishop Brennan". WexfordLocal.com. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  16. Walsh, Dan (21 July 2020). "Pope accepts Bishop Brennan's resignation". WexfordLocal.com. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  17. Keane, Brendan (11 January 2022). "Prayers offered for Bishop Denis Brennan's recovery". Enniscorthy Guardian. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  18. Conneely, Ailbhe (11 June 2021). "Pope appoints Fr Ger Nash as new Bishop of Ferns".
  19. "Pope Francis appoints Father Ger Nash as the new Bishop of Ferns". Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bishop of Ferns
2006–2021
Succeeded by