An expanse of thick green carpet lay between James and the carved oak desk where the bishop sat with a pen in one hand, rubbing at his forehead with the other. There was a bay window behind him and three tall sash windows reached up to the corniced ceiling. He had turned one corner of the document on his desk towards him and was eyeing it with some hostility. As James crossed the room, he waited for the man to look up at him, to rise to greet him, but he was standing right in front of his desk before the bishop said, ‘Thank you for waiting, Mr Keaveney.’
James had expected the full regalia, like the man in the portrait, but he was dressed as any ordinary priest would be.
‘Now, Mr Keaveney, I am trying to remember if we’ve met before.’
‘Oh, I’m sure we’ve met somewhere down through the years – or we’ve been in the same room on some occasion anyway. You would have done my daughter’s confirmation a few years back.’
‘But I am thinking of some event to do with the Donegal Chamber of Commerce where you gave a speech.’
James remembered the event – it was held in the ballroom at the Central Hotel and there was a lot of free alcohol served to businessmen and local dignitaries, and a complimentary three-course meal – bishops loved that sort of thing.
‘And of course,’ the bishop continued, ‘I heard you on the radio the other morning talking about the Spanish boats invading Irish waters. You spoke very well and I agree that it is important to take a strong position on such things—’
‘Thank you,’ James said, ‘but that’s not what I came to talk to you about.’
‘No, no, I didn’t expect that you had.’ And then he began to move things around on his desk as though he was preparing himself to focus fully on whatever James was about to say. ‘But before we go any further, Mr Keaveney, might I be permitted to ask you a quick question?’
‘Go on.’
‘Well, I hear murmurings from the direction of Dáil Éireann that there is to be another referendum on the matter of divorce.’ The bishop sat back in his chair, joined his hands over his stomach.
‘It seems inevitable that will come around again at some point, yes.’
‘But it wasn’t so long ago that the people of this country voted overwhelmingly to protect the sanctity of marriage.’
‘That was nearly ten years ago, the country’s a very different place now.’
‘I think I understand what you’re trying to say, Mr Keaveney. So I can take it that your own party’s policy would be that—’
‘That in a modern society a man and woman who have spent a suitable period of time apart and who are unable to reconcile should be allowed to end their union if they wish.’
The bishop smiled. ‘Ah, you’re really toeing the party line. But tell me, what do you think is to become of the children of these broken families?’
‘I imagine that will be the decision of their parents.’
‘And what are your own personal views, are they in line with those of your party?’
‘It’s interesting that you should raise the topic of marriage, because that’s exactly what I’ve come to talk to you about.’
The bishop began to turn the fat silver ring on his finger, an emerald cross fixed into the head. ‘Well, Mr Keaveney – present your case and I’ll see if I can be of assistance in the matter.’
James stared at the man sitting there with his hands clasped together on his desk, waiting for him to hold forth. A sky of deep, even blue filled the windows behind him. A great light seemed to emanate from this small, elderly man. Present your case, James thought, grinding the words together in his head.
‘You know, it’s just occurred to me, Bishop—’
‘Your Grace.’
‘That we have very similar jobs. When I’m at home, I open my constituency office for a few hours every week for people to come in and voice their concerns. Anyone can come in, really. It’s more or less an open-door policy. So maybe that’s where we differ a little bit. Getting an audience with you was like getting an audience with the pope.’
A brief smile passed across the bishop’s face, a lazy lifting of the mouth that was more akin to a yawn.
‘When I tried to look for your phone number, I was told that it was ex-directory and so I called someone that I knew would have it. And do you know who that was, Bishop?’
The man said nothing, just allowed his eyelids to wither in a gesture of irritation.
‘Well,’ James continued, ‘I phoned Dave Mulligan. I’ve known Dave for years—’
‘Mr Mulligan is a good man.’
‘And a good friend of the church, I’m sure – no doubt you’ve had dealings with each other down through the years. I’d say the church owns a great deal of land in this area, and some of that was sold on to Dave when the coffers were empty, ha? But that’s by the by,’ James said. ‘People come to me to present their case, as you put it. It’s often tedious stuff – people complaining that the council aren’t collecting their bins, that sort of thing. But it can be about more complex issues as well. And if a person is honest and straightforward and in need of genuine help, then I will do everything within my power to help them.’
The bishop nodded slowly.
‘But if they are dishonest – and let me tell you, I can smell bullshit from miles – then they get short shrift from me. So I’m not going to bullshit you today. The parish priest you’ve placed in Ardglas is making my life difficult and I want you to have him moved to another parish as soon as possible.’
There was a long silence and something in the bishop’s face unclouded. ‘Could you elaborate a bit more on the nature of this problem, Mr Keaveney?’ He parted his hands then in a gesture of magnanimity that made James want to break his fingers. ‘It is important for me to be aware of the character of my clergymen.’
James had expected there would be some moral posturing of this kind, but was determined not to be drawn out on the details.
‘For them to be able to offer spiritual guidance to their parishioners,’ the bishop continued, ‘I need to be able to offer spiritual guidance to them.’
‘Oh, you don’t need to worry about that, he’s full of guidance and advice and in particular advice about my marriage.’
‘So this is something of a personal nature, Mr Keaveney?’
‘Oh, I would say it’s personal, all right. I would say coming between a man and his wife is a personal matter.’
‘And when you say that he has come between you and your wife—’
