Séamus Freeman (23 February 1944 – 20 August 2022) was the

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 ...

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

Diocese of Ossory The Bishop of Ossory () is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Province of Leinster, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been ...

who was appointed by

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 ...

on 14 September 2007. He later resigned as bishop on 29 July 2016.

Biography

Freeman was the eldest of eight children. His family moved to Callan,

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...

, where he attended school. After his education he entered the

Pallottines The Pallottines officially named the Society of the Catholic Apostolate ( la, Societas Apostolatus Catholici), abbreviated SAC is a Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right for men in the Roman Catholic Church, founded in 1835 by the Roman C ...

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles (Roman Catholic parish), Thurles. The cathedral ch ...

, County Tipperary, and studied Theology at

St. Patrick's College, Thurles Mary Immaculate College, (MIC) Thurles is a third level college of education in Thurles, County Tipperary. Formerly a seminary, the college specialises in humanities courses in accounting, business studies, Irish and religious studies. History M ...

, and Philosophy at

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 ...

. He was ordained to the priesthood on 12 June 1971. He continued his education in the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

where he studied

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

. He then went to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

where he worked for his Religious Society. In 1981 he was appointed rector and director of formation of the Pallottines in Thurles. He remained in Thurles until 1989 when he was appointed the Vicar General of the Society, becoming its Rector General in 1992, in this capacity he served two six-year terms. In October 2004 he was appointed parish priest in Rome. In December 2005 he was elected President of the General Coordination Council of the

Union of Catholic Apostolate Union of Catholic Apostolate is a Catholic association established by a Roman priest St. Vincent Pallotti in 1835. History With a group of associates and collaborators, Vincent Pallotti developed in the city of Rome a large structure of apostoli ...

Episcopal Ministry

On hearing the news of the appointment of Freeman, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin remarked: "''He is an exceptionally warm and kind man who I'm sure will quickly win the affection of the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

. His genuine humility hides a deep spirituality and the breath of his pastoral experience''". He was ordained to the episcopate and installed on 2 December 2007. The Principal Consecrator was the Metropolitan

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 ...

Diarmuid Martin, while the principal Co-Consecrators were Archbishop

Giuseppe Lazzarotto Giuseppe Lazzarotto KC*HS (born 24 May 1942) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1971 to 2017, with the rank of apostolic nuncio and an archbishop since 1994. Biography Giusep ...

, Apostolic Nuncio and Bishop

Laurence Forristal Laurence Forristal (5 June 1931 – 10 October 2018) was an Irish Roman Catholic prelate, who served as the Bishop of Ossory from 1981 to 2007. Early life and education Born to William Forristal and Kathleen Forristal (née Phelan) in Thom ...

the Bishop Emeritus of Ossory. In December 2010, Bishop Freeman wrote in the ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' of the Pastoral Letter of Pope Benedict XVI to the Catholics of Ireland, "There was widespread disappointment among the faithful that in the pope’s letter last March, sex abuse was not seen as a symptom of shortcomings in church structure." He noted that people "observed there was no critique of the role of the Vatican, and little or no acknowledgment of the exclusion of lay people from roles in which they can contribute".Bishops hear concerns about past failings amid search for church renewal
from ''

'', 28 December 2010 On 29 July 2016, Pope Francis accepted Freeman's letter of resignation. Freeman stated that he resigned due to poor health. Bishop Freeman passed away on 20 August 2022, aged 78.

References

External links

Catholic-Hierarchy:Séamus Freeman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Séamus 1944 births 2022 deaths People from County Tipperary Roman Catholic bishops of Ossory Catholic University of America alumni Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of St. Patrick's College, Thurles Pallottine bishops Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland