By Sarah Mac Donald - 23 August, 2013
The Archdiocese of Dublin has dismissed reports that Archbishop Diarmuid Martin is poised for a major appointment in Rome as “totally without foundation.”
In a statement released on Thursday, a spokeswoman for the Archbishop told CatholicIreland.net that the leader of the Church in Dublin would not be commenting “on such empty speculation.”
The claim that an appointment in the Vatican is in the pipeline for Dr Martin is made in a report published in this week’s issue of the Irish Catholic newspaper.
According to the Catholic weekly, a combination of some surprise appointments in Dublin, and the positioning of close friends of Archbishop Martin’s in Pope Francis’ inner circle “is fuelling speculation that a move to a prestigious Rome-based job may be on the cards.”
Citing “a number of senior sources within the Dublin archdiocese, including in Archbishop’s House”, the report claims that there is “a growing sense that Dr Martin will be called to Rome to run a Vatican department, possibly within weeks.”
The “surprise appointments” in Dublin refer to claims that Auxiliary Bishop Eamonn Walsh is to be made Vicar for Clergy, though this has not yet been confirmed and the appointments list for the Archdiocese of Dublin has not yet been published.
The Irish Catholic also claims that Archbishop Martin has asked a key aide, Mgr Lorcan O’Brien, who is Moderator of the Curia, to stay on for another year, despite previously having announced that he would take up a parish appointment.
Archbishop Martin was appointed coadjutor archbishop to Cardinal Desmond Connell of Dublin in 2003 and succeeded him as archbishop in 2004.
Prior to his return to his native city, he was a high flying Vatican diplomat working at the United Nations in Geneva.
