Courtney McGrailJust three members of the Irish hierarchy remain active members of Vatican departments, following the news that Tuam’s Archbishop Michael Neary is one of almost 20 prelates leaving the Vatican’s department of the liturgy.
The Vatican announced on October 28 that 27 new members had been appointed to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, leading to speculation about which prelates they would replace.
Those stepping down also include the Vatican’s financial chief Cardinal George Pell and Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who served as the Pope’s envoy during 2012’s International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin.
Cardinal Séan Brady remains a member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin is a member of the Secretariat for Communication, and Cashel and Emly’s Archbishop Kieran O’Reilly SMA is a member of the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and for Societies of Apostolic Life.