Christopher Jones (bishop)
| Styles of Christopher Jones | |
|---|---|
.svg.png) | |
| Reference style | The Right Reverend |
| Spoken style | My Lord |
| Religious style | Bishop |
| Posthumous style | none |
Christopher "Christy" Jones (born 3 March 1936) is the Bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Elphin. He was born in County Roscommon, Ireland. He was ordained a priest on 17 June 1962 for his home diocese. On 24 May 1994 he was appointed Bishop for the Diocese.[1] He was ordained a bishop on 15 August, of the same year. The Principal Consecrator was Archbishop Emanuele Gerada, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland; his Principal Co-Consecrators were Archbishop Joseph Cassidy, and Bishop Thomas Finnegan.
He is widely respected as a man of great humility and humanity.[2]
In March 2010 after the publication of the Ryan and Murphy Reports into child abuse under Church authorities in 2009, Bishop Jones accused the media of being “unfair and unjust” to the Catholic Church through a concentration on the handling by church authorities of the clerical child sex-abuse issue. “Could I just say with all this emphasis on cover-up, the cover-up has gone on for centuries, not just in the church… It’s going on today in families, in communities, in societies. Why are you singling out the church?” he asked. Bishop Jones is a member of the Bishops’ Liaison Committee for Child Protection, he was speaking at a press conference in Maynooth on 10 March 2010 where the Irish Bishops Conference was concluding its three-day spring meeting.[3]
Bishop Jones also described the Bishop of Galway Martin Drennan, who served as an Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin for seven years during the period investigated by the Murphy Commission, as “a scholar and a holy man” and that any reference to him in the Murphy report had been positive. It emerged yesterday that Bishop Drennan has invited representatives from all parishes in his diocese to a service of reparation at Galway Cathedral on Palm Sunday, 28 March.[4]
In a statement, Why Marriage Matters,[5] released by the bishops, they describe provisions in the Civil Partnership Bill as “an extraordinary and far-reaching attack on freedom of conscience and the free practices of religion – which are guaranteed to every citizen under the Constitution”.[6] On the refusal by Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern to allow an opt-out clause for people who had issues of conscience when it came to association or involvement with same-sex ceremonies, he said the bishops were “very worried about that. Very worried.” ”.[7]
On his 75th birthday in March 2011, Bishop Jones will submit his letter of resignation under the Code of Canon Law to Pope Benedict XVI. He was succeeded by Bishop Kevin Doran, who was appointed on May 14th 2014 and ordained bishop on July 13th.
References
- ↑ Ordination of Bishop Jones
- ↑ http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2013/0122/1224329137932.html
- ↑ Bishop says media 'unfair and unjust'
- ↑ Bishop says media 'unfair and unjust'
- ↑ Meeting of the Irish Catholic Bishops'
- ↑ Bishops weigh up action on Civil Partnership Bill
- ↑ Bishops weigh up action on Civil Partnership Bill
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Dominic Conway |
Bishop of Elphin 24 May 1994-13 July 2014 |
Succeeded by Bishop Kevin Doran |