James Moriarty (bishop)

James Moriarty, D.D. (born 13 August 1936), is the former Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin. He served as the ordinary of the diocese from 2002 until his resignation was accepted on 22 April 2010.[1]

He was born in County Dublin, Ireland and ordained a priest on 21 May 1961, aged 24, for the Archdiocese of Dublin.

Moriarty was educated at Catholic University School, Holy Cross College (Clonliffe), University College Dublin and St Patrick's College, Maynooth.[2]

He served as chaplain in UCD from 1968 to 1979.[2]

On 26 June 1991, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin and Titular Bishop of Bononia,[3] and ordained bishop on 22 September 1991. The Principal Consecrator was Cardinal Desmond Connell, archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland.

On 4 June 2002, he was appointed bishop of Kildare and Leighlin by the Holy See on 4 June 2002 and he was installed and took possession of the see at the Cathedral Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Carlow on 31 August 2002.[4] Following his resignation, an interim period of three years lapsed before the installation in May 2013 of the newly ordained bishop, Denis Nulty.

In November 2009, he released a public statement expressing shock at the findings of the Murphy Report, which covered the abuse crisis within the archdiocese of Dublin.[5] According to a report released on 17 December 2009, he was expected to resign from his post following a similar resignation by the bishop of Limerick, Donal Murray.[6][7] A few days later, Bishop Moriarty announced he had offered his resignation to the Pope on 23 December 2009,[8] and which was accepted by the Holy See on 22 April 2010.[9] He is now the bishop emeritus of Kildare.