WHY CARDINAL CAHAL DALY SACKED BISHOP PAT

Daly became the Bishop of Down and Connor (Belfast) in late 1982. Bishop Pat had been in St. Peter’s Cathedral Belfast as curate since August 1978.

 

When Daly took over Belfast he asked all the priests in the Diocese to write a report for him about the state of things in the Diocese. Over a 4 week period Bishop Pat prayed about this and eventually posted Daly a very honest and comprehensive report on the 7^th November 1982. In his report Bishop Pat made the following comments and suggestions:

1.   That Daly should abandon his luxurious palace in Belfast’s stockbroker belt and come and live at his cathedral among the poor as would Christ.

2.    That Daly should renovate the Diocese’s churches in line with Vatican 11

3.   That rules about marriages etc be implemented on a Diocesan level so that people would not be encountering difficult priests abusing their power.

4.     That the laity should be more involved in every aspect of Church life.

5.     That priests should be appointed on merit and not by age seniority.

6.     That Daly and the Church should do more to reach out to the alienated youth.

                    

BISHOP PAT PHYSICALLY BEATEN UP BY PRIEST:

About this time the Parish Priest of the Cathedral Father Vincent McKinley was bullying both the priests in the Cathedral Presbytery and the people of the parish. Bishop Pat reported this to Daly.

 

As a result Father McKinley jumped on Bishop Pat one night in the presbytery dining room and physically beat and kicked him repeatedly !

 

Bishop Pat reported this to Bishop Daly who replied: “Father McKinley is a saint and you have a persecution complex”.  Bishop Pat later regretted not calling in the police.

 

Bishop Pat was banned from eating in the cathedral priest’s dining room and had to eat in the kitchen with the lady housekeeper. At night when Father McKinley would get drunk he would kick Bishop Pat’s bedroom door and sing pornographic rugby songs about “wanking” and “fucking” !!! He was determined to break Bishop Pat’s spirit.

 

When Bishop Pat later organised a big clean up of the infamous Divis Flats complex which surrounded the presbytery Father McKinley stood at the presbytery window  giving Bishop Pat and the parishioners the 2 finger “fuck off” sign.

 

Daly and the clergy became furious with Bishop Pat. In February 1983 Daly banished Bishop Pat to the furthest parish in the Diocese – Attical – on the top of the Mountains of Mourne. Fortunately for Bishop Pat the people of Kilkeel embraced Bishop Pat and he them and Bishop Pat has the most wonderful relationship with the people of Kilkeel for the 15 months Daly left him at peace there.

 

Then Daly struck again. In August of 1984, without warning or cause he once again banished Bishop Pat to the 83% Protestant / Loyalist town of Larne in Co. Antrim. When sending him to Larne Daly said to Bishop Pat: “When you go to Larne I want you to fade into the woodwork. When I look out on the ocean of priests I do not want to see your head above the waves”.

 

When Bishop Pat was in Larne for just a year Daly sent for him again and said he was going to banish him totally from the Diocese. He offered Bishop Pat a parish in California and £10,000 to go there. Bishop Pat refused. Daly later offered Bishop Pat £1,000 for the key of the Church house in Larne. Pat refused to leave and to this day lives in the house where he now acquired “adverse possession”. Daly denied the offer of £1,000 which Bishop Pat had returned to him. But Bishop Pat had kept a photocopy of the cheque which he made public. In reply Daly said it was a charitable donation.

 

Since 1986 Bishop Pat has maintained an independent ministry from Larne. In 1998, just before it was announced that Bishop Pat had been  consecrated a bishop,  Bishop Pat was approached by an emissary from the Church authorities and offered £250,000 if he went away and was silent for 5 years and that on his return he would be offered an important Church position. Bishop Pat turned down the attempted bribe.

 

These days when asked about Bishop Pat Daly and the Church say “No comment”. Daly once said: “We must deprive Buckley of the oxygen of publicity”