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John Magee SPS (born 24 September 1936) is a Roman Catholic bishop emeritus in Ireland. He was
Bishop of Cloyne The Bishop of Cloyne is an episcopal title that takes its name after the small town of Cloyne in County Cork, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church, it is a separate title; but, in the Church of Ireland, it has been united with other bishopri ...
from 1987 to 2010; following scandal he resigned from that position on 24 March 2010, becoming a
bishop emeritus In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teaching doctrine, governing Catholics in his jurisdiction, sanctifying the world and representing the c ...
. Magee is the only person to have been private secretary to three popes.


Early life and education

He was born in
Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...
Northern Ireland, in the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Dromore The Diocese of Dromore () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland. It is one of eight suffragan dioceses which are subject to the Ecclesiastical province, Metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Armagh, Archdio ...
, on 24 September 1936. His father was a dairy farmer. He was educated at St Colman's College in Newry and entered the St Patrick's Missionary Society at Kiltegan,
County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...
, in 1954. He also attended
University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...
where he obtained a degree in philosophy before going to study theology in Rome, where he was ordained priest on 17 March 1962. He served as a missionary priest in
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
for almost six years before being appointed Procurator General of St Patrick's Society in Rome. In 1969 he was an official of the
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation (Roman Curia), congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for Catholic missions, missionary work and related activities. It is also kn ...
in Rome, when he was chosen by
Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...
to be one of his private secretaries. On Pope Paul's death he remained in service as a private secretary to his successor,
Pope John Paul I Pope John Paul I (born Albino Luciani; 17 October 1912 – 28 September 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 26 August 1978 until his death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal h ...
and
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
. Magee is the only man to hold the position of private secretary to three Popes in Vatican history. He also acted as chaplain to the Vatican's
Swiss Guard The Pontifical Swiss Guard,; ; ; ; , %5BCorps of the Pontifical Swiss Guard%5D. ''vatican.va'' (in Italian). Retrieved 19 July 2022. also known as the Papal Swiss Guard or simply Swiss Guard,Swiss Guards , History, Vatican, Uniform, Require ...
.


Papal service


Paul VI

The now Saint Paul VI treated Magee kindly and paternally; both joined on the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist to celebrate their name day. On their last such encounter Paul VI gave Magee an icon of St. John the Baptist that he received from the King of Jordan. When Paul VI was beatified in October 2014 Magee travelled to Rome where he led the procession of bishops.


John Paul I


John Paul II

He remained for a time in the same capacity with
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
until appointed papal Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations in 1982, and was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Cloyne, Ireland on 17 February 1987. He was consecrated bishop on 17 March 1987, St. Patrick's Day, by Pope John Paul II at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. On 28 April 1981 Magee travelled, without the knowledge or approval of the Vatican's Secretariat of State, to Long Kesh Prison outside
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, to meet with IRA
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...
r Bobby Sands. Magee sought, unsuccessfully, to convince Sands to end his hunger strike; Sands died the following week.


Bishop of Cloyne


Interest in vocations

Magee played a role in the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference where he was featured in the modernisation of the liturgy in Ireland. His pastoral approach placed heavy emphasis on the promotion of vocations to the priesthood but, after some initial success, the number of vocations in the diocese of Cloyne declined, a trend reflected across the island of Ireland. He appointed Ireland's first female "faith developer" and entrusted her with the task of transforming an Irish rural diocese into a cosmopolitan pastoral model using techniques borrowed from several urban dioceses in the United States.


Cathedral redecoration dispute

Magee involved himself in a dispute with the Friends of St Colman's Cathedral, a local conservationist group in
Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With a population of 14,148 inhabitants at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Cobh is on the south si ...
which organised an effective and professional opposition to the Bishop's plans to re-order the interior of Cobh Cathedral, plans similar to previous re-orderings in
Killarney Killarney ( ; , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Killar ...
, Cork and
Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...
cathedrals. In an oral hearing conducted by An Bord Pleanála, the Irish Planning Board, it emerged that irregularities had occurred in the planning application that were traced to Cobh Town Council, which accommodated the Bishop's plans to modify the Victorian interior designed by E W Pugin and George Ashlin. On 2 June 2006, when Bishop Magee was in
Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a ...
, An Bord Pleanála directed Cobh Town Council to refuse the Bishop's application. On 25 July 2006, Magee published a pastoral letter stating: "As a result of An Bord Pleanála's decision, the situation concerning the temporary plywood altar still remains unresolved and needs to be addressed. The Diocese will initiate discussions with the planning authorities in an attempt to find a solution, which would be acceptable from both the liturgical and heritage points of view." A diocesan official explained that the bishop did not wish to institute a judicial review in the Irish High Court because of the financial implications of such an action and because of the bishop's desire to avoid a Church-State clash. Claims that the decision of An Bord Pleanála infringed the constitutional property rights of religious bodies were dismissed when it was revealed that the cathedral is the property of a secular trust established in Irish law. It is estimated that Bishop Magee spent over €200,000 in his bid to re-order Cobh Cathedral. The controversy was reported even outside Ireland, as shown in the
external links An internal link is a type of hyperlink on a web page to another page or resource, such as an image or document, on the same website or domain. It is the opposite of an external link, a link that directs a user to content that is outside its d ...
below. A February 2006 article by Kieron Wood in ''
The Sunday Business Post The ''Business Post'' (formerly ''The Sunday Business Post'') is a Sunday newspaper distributed nationally in Ireland and an online publication. It is focused mainly on business and financial issues in Ireland. Founding to Irish financial crisi ...
'' claimed that Magee did not have the backing of the Vatican in his proposals for St Colman's. At the oral hearing of An Bord Pleanála he was requested to provide a copy of the letter from the Vatican in which he claimed he had been given approval for the modernising of Cobh Cathedral. The letter that he produced was a congratulatory message dated 9 December 2003 o. 158/99/L) to the team of architects who worked on the cathedral project from Cardinal Francis Arinze, Prefect of the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments () is the dicastery (from , from δικαστής, 'judge, juror') of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Church as distin ...
. The whole text of this letter was then reproduced in a publication called ''Conserving Cobh Cathedral: The Case Stated'' pp. 108–109.


2006 ''ad limina'' visit

At a meeting of his liturgical advisers and diocesan clergy in November 2006, Bishop Magee spoke of his conversation with the Pope in the course of that '' ad limina'' visit at the end of the previous month. He mentioned that he had been closely questioned on several aspects of his proposals to re-order Cobh Cathedral. It was obvious, he said, that the Pope had been kept well informed of the entire issue. Bishop Magee's contribution to the ''ad limina'' visit concerned not only his diocese of Cloyne but also ceremonial matters (an area of expertise for him) on behalf of the Conference. He also facilitated the broadcasting, in coincidence with the visit, of a life of Pope John Paul I prepared some months earlier by Italian state television ( RAI). In an interview published on the Italian Catholic daily '' Avvenire'' on 26 October 2006, Cardinal Secretary of State
Tarcisio Bertone Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican City, Vatican diplomat. A Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal since 2003, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as S ...
criticised the image that the programme presented of Pope John Paul I. After the ''ad limina'' visit, Bishop Magee represented the Irish bishops at a meeting in Rome of the International Commission for
Eucharistic Congresses The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...
.


Child sex abuse inquiry

In December 2008, Magee was at the centre of a controversy concerning his handling of child sex abuse cases by clergy in the diocese of Cloyne. Calls for his resignation followed. On 7 March 2009, Magee announced that, at his request, the Pope had placed the running of the diocese in the hands of Dermot Clifford, metropolitan archbishop of the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, to whose ecclesiastical province the diocese of Cloyne belongs. Magee remained Bishop of Cloyne, but withdrew from administration in order, he said, to dedicate his full-time to the matter of the inquiry. On 24 March 2010, the Holy See announced that Magee had formally resigned from his duties as Bishop of Cloyne. The subsequent report of the Irish government judicial inquiry, The Cloyne Report, published on 13 July 2011, found that Bishop Magee's second in command, Monsignor Denis O'Callaghan, then the parish priest of Mallow, had falsely told the Government and the HSE in a previous inquiry that the diocese was reporting all allegations of clerical child sexual abuse to the civil authorities. The inquiry into Cloyne – the fourth examination of clerical abuse in the Church in Ireland – found the greatest flaw in the diocese was repeated failure to report all complaints. It found nine allegations out of 15 were not passed on to the Garda. Speaking in August 2011 Magee said that he felt "horrified and ashamed" by abuse in his diocese. Magee said he accepted "full responsibility" for the findings. He added that "I feel ashamed that this happened under my watch – it shouldn't have and I truly apologise," he said. "I did endeavour and I hoped that those guidelines that I issued in a booklet form to every person in the diocese were being implemented but I discovered they were not and that is my responsibility." Magee also offered to meet abuse victims and apologised "on bended knee". "I beg forgiveness, I am sorry and I wish to say that if they wish to come and see me privately I will speak with them and offer my deepest apology," he said. Bishop Magee said he had been "truly horrified" when he read the full extent of the abuse in the report. However, a victim said apologies would "never go far enough". "It's too late for us now, the only thing it's not too late for is that maybe there will be a future where people will be more enlightened, more aware and protect their children better," she said. Asked about restitution for victims, Magee said it was a matter for the Cloyne Diocese.


International profile

Shortly before
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
died on 2 April 2005, the Pope's Polish personal secretary, Stanisław Dziwisz, called Magee urgently to Rome, where he arrived the day after the Pope's death. ''Who's Who in Ireland''
006 Alec Trevelyan is a fictional character who is the main antagonist in the 1995 James Bond film ''GoldenEye,'' portrayed by actor Sean Bean. Bean's likeness was also used as the model for Alec Trevelyan in the 1997 video game '' GoldenEye 007' ...
described Magee as "remote ndlow profile". It commented that many ecclesiastical observers "expected him to return to
Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...
by now" and remarked that the "
red hat Red Hat, Inc. (formerly Red Hat Software, Inc.) is an American software company that provides open source software products to enterprises and is a subsidiary of IBM. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North ...
f a cardinalstill eludes him" (cf. Who's Who in Ireland
006 Alec Trevelyan is a fictional character who is the main antagonist in the 1995 James Bond film ''GoldenEye,'' portrayed by actor Sean Bean. Bean's likeness was also used as the model for Alec Trevelyan in the 1997 video game '' GoldenEye 007' ...
p. 233). In the 2007 play '' The Last Confession'', which centred on events surrounding the death of Pope John Paul I, the Pope's valet claimed that Magee was responsible for the Pontiff's death and that he fled after committing the act. Magee is represented as interrogated by a committee of cardinals and explaining why he had to leave Rome after the Pope's death. April 2008 brought renewed speculation that Magee was being considered for a position in the Roman Curia. The French left-wing clerical review '' Golias'' reported that the Irishman was in the running to succeed as head of the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments () is the dicastery (from , from δικαστής, 'judge, juror') of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Church as distin ...
. The review suggested that Magee's support for the Latin Mass had won him the Pope's approval, and it said that the bishop's apparent lack of ambition and shyness eminently qualified him for a position in the Vatican. In September 2008, as the world prepared to mark the 30th anniversary of the death of John Paul I, the Italian weekly ''Diva e Donna'' published an interview with Magee, presenting it as the first time he had broken his silence on the events surrounding the death of John Paul I, which he attributed to exhaustion brought on by the stress of the initial period following his election. Magee said he had been accused of having poisoned the Pope and had even been questioned by
INTERPOL The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...
.


Health

In 2007, for the third year in succession, Magee failed to complete his personal schedule of confirmations in Cloyne diocese. On 12 May 2007 Magee was admitted to the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork to undergo a knee replacement operation. All official engagements were cancelled for the next ten weeks to allow him to recuperate, after which he resumed work. He resigned as
Bishop of Cloyne The Bishop of Cloyne is an episcopal title that takes its name after the small town of Cloyne in County Cork, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church, it is a separate title; but, in the Church of Ireland, it has been united with other bishopri ...
on 24 March 2010. and was eventually succeeded by Canon William Crean whose appointment came on 25 November 2012.


References


External links

* Kennedy, Eugene
"Was the Pope Murdered?"
''The New York Times'', 5 November 1989
Row over Irish cathedral (video)
at BBC World
"Bishop intervenes on behalf of redundant sugar workers"
at Cork and Ross {{DEFAULTSORT:Magee, John Living people 1936 births People educated at St Colman's College, Newry People from Newry Roman Catholic bishops of Cloyne Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in Ireland 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland Alumni of University College Cork Christian clergy from County Armagh