James Moriarty (13 August 1936 – 27 March 2022) was an Irish

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

who served as

Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin The Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, one of the suffragan dioceses of the Archdiocese of Dublin. The episcopal title takes its name from the towns of Kildare and Old Leighlin ...

between 2002 and 2010.

Early life

Moriarty was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

on 13 August 1936, one of five children to Michael and Catherine Moriarty. He attended secondary school at the

Catholic University School Catholic University School ''(C.U.S.)'' is a private (voluntary) secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. The school was founded in 1867 by Bartholomew Woodlock as a preparatory school for the Catholic University of Ireland, the predecess ...

and studied for the priesthood at Holy Cross College, from where he was ordained to the priesthood on 21 May 1961. Moriarty also attended

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

and

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland. ...

, from where he obtained a

Doctorate in Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...

Presbyteral ministry

Following his ordination, Moriarty's first appointment was as a teacher at the

vocational school A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...

Killester Killester () is a small residential largely affluent suburb of Dublin, Ireland on the Northside of the city in the Dublin 3 and Dublin 5 postal districts. It was the site of a church and convent or monastery centuries ago, and later a small vill ...

. He later served as chaplain to the

Poor Servants of the Mother of God The Poor Servants of the Mother of God are a religious congregation founded in 1869 by Mary Magdalen of the Sacred Heart, Frances Margaret Taylor. She was closely assisted by her friend and benefactor Lady Georgiana Fullerton, and following her deat ...

community on Portland Row, and as a teacher at the vocational school on Mount Street in the city centre. Moriarty was appointed

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

from 1968 to 1979, before subsequently serving as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

between 1979 and 1983, and in Bawnogue between 1983 and 1985. Moriarty was appointed the first parish priest of Deansrath – a then-developing area near

Clondalkin Clondalkin ( ; ) is a suburban town situated 10 km south-west of Dublin city centre, Ireland, under the administrative jurisdiction of South Dublin. It features an 8th-century round tower that acts as a focal point for the area. Clondalk ...

that had been constituted from Bawnogue – from 1983 to 1989, and subsequently parish priest of

Donaghmede Donaghmede () is a residential suburb on the northern side of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, formed from parts of Baldoyle, Coolock and Raheny in the 1970s. It contains a mid-size shopping centre and a ruined chapel, and lies within t ...

from 1989 to 1991. Moriarty was elected chairman of the diocesan council of priests in the late 1980s.

Episcopal ministry

Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin

Moriarty was appointed auxiliary bishop of

and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of '' Bononia'' by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on 26 June 1991. He was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on 22 September by the

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin is an archepiscopal title which takes its name after Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Irelan ...

Desmond Connell Desmond Connell (24 March 1926 – 21 February 2017) was an Irish cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. He was an Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland. Cardinal Connell was one of a number of senior clergy to have been heavily criticised ...

, in St Andrew's Church,

Westland Row Westland Row is a street on the Southside of Dublin, Ireland. Location The street runs along the east end of Trinity College Dublin. History Westland Row first appears on maps in 1776. It was originally known as Westlands after Willi ...

. He was given responsibility for the

deaneries A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

of Fingal South East, Fingal South West and Howth.

Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin

Moriarty was appointed Bishop-elect of Kildare and Leighlin by Pope John Paul II on 4 June 2002, and was installed on 31 August in the Cathedral of the Assumption,

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

. During his episcopate, in response to a consultation process on pastoral priorities for the diocese, he introduced the "Reach Out" initiative, in which parishioners in all churches in the diocese were invited during Advent to bring home a candle and an envelope containing an explanatory leaflet and a table prayer card. He also chaired the Commission for Worship, Pastoral Renewal and Faith Development of the

Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference The Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference ( ga, Comhdháil Easpag Caitliceach Éireann) is the episcopal conference of the Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland. The conference meets a number of times a year in Maynooth which is the location of St Patr ...

Resignation

Following the publication of the

Murphy Report 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 ...

on 29 November 2009 and the resignation on 17 December of former auxiliary bishop of Dublin and then-

Bishop of Limerick The Bishop of Limerick is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Limerick in the Province of Munster, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it still continues as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been uni ...

, Donal Murray, amid criticism at his handling of allegations against several priests, it was widely expected that Moriarty would resign as Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin. The report stated that Moriarty had received a complaint in 1993 about a priest's contact with young children – named in the report as Fr Edmondus – and that no attempt has been made by the archdiocesan governance to check archives or other files relating to Fr Edmondus when this complaint was received. The report added that Moriarty had told the commission that while he did not have access to the archives, he could have asked then-

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

to conduct a search. Moriarty released a statement on 23 December 2009, stating that while the report did not criticise him directly, he fully accepted the overall conclusion of the Commission of Investigation. On the basis that in his capacity as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Dublin, he had failed to challenge the culture of how abuse allegations were handled, he announced that he had offered his resignation to

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

, which was formally accepted on 22 April 2010.

Retirement and death

Following his resignation as Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, Moriarty served as an assistant priest in Saint Anthony's parish, Clontarf. He died on 26 March 2022 in Cherryfield Lodge Nursing Home, Milltown, Dublin. His funeral Mass took place on 30 March in the Cathedral of the Assumption,

, with burial afterwards in the cathedral grounds.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moriarty, James 1936 births 2022 deaths Christian clergy from County Dublin 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Roman Catholic bishops of Kildare and Leighlin Auxiliary bishops of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin Alumni of Clonliffe College Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth