William "Willie" Walsh (born 16 January 1935) is an Irish former Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Killaloe between 1994 and 2010.
Early life
Walsh was born on 16 January 1935, the youngest of six children, near Roscrea, County Tipperary. He attended primary school in Corville National School and Roscrea Boys National School and secondary school as a boarder in St Flannan's College.
Walsh won a scholarship to St Patrick's College, Maynooth, obtaining a bachelor's degree in science while studying for the priesthood. He completed his theology studies at the Pontifical Irish College, and was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Luigi Traglia on 21 February 1959 in the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran.
Presbyteral ministry
Following his ordination, Walsh returned to the Pontifical Lateran University to complete a doctorate in canon law. On his return to Ireland, he was appointed to the staff of Coláiste Éinde, Salthill, while studying for a higher diploma in education at University College, Galway.
Walsh was appointed to the staff of St Flannan's College in 1963, where he taught mathematics, science, physics and religion. He was also involved in the foundation of the Catholic Marriage Advisory Council in the Diocese of Killaloe in 1970, working with marriage tribunals at diocesan, regional and national levels. He has been involved in coaching hurling teams at all levels, coaching St Flannan's College to five Dr Harty Cup and Dr Croke Cup titles between 1976 and 1987, and Éire Óg to the Clare Senior Hurling Championship in 1990.
Walsh was appointed curate at Ennis Cathedral in 1988, and subsequently administrator in 1990, a position he held until his appointment as coadjutor bishop of Killaloe on 21 June 1994. Following the sudden death of Michael Harty on 8 August 1994, Walsh succeeded to the see, and was ordained as Bishop of Killaloe by the Archbishop of Cashel-Emly, Dermot Clifford, on 2 October in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, Ennis.
Episcopal ministry
As part of Jubilee 2000, Walsh began a three-week Pilgrimage of Reconciliation, as a way of "recognising, acknowledging, painful though it may be, serious wrongs have been done, and deep hurts have been caused by people working with our church down the years".
Personal views
Both during his episcopate and in retirement, Walsh has expressed personal views on issues that are considered at odds with official church teaching.
In November 2009, he openly challenged a Papal ban on discussions surrounding the ordination of women, while on another occasion, he challenged the practice of closed communion in the Catholic Church, which almost completely excluded Protestants from receiving the Eucharist. Walsh stated that he had never suggested to members of the Church of Ireland that they were not welcome to receive the sacrament in his churches.
In an interview with The Irish Times in November 2010, Walsh expressed personal views on key issues such as homosexuality, birth control and family planning, the ordination of women, clerical celibacy and the existence of the afterlife. He asserted to have been "stunned" upon hearing about the publication of Humanae vitae, a document reaffirming traditional church teaching on family planning, in 1968, saying that "[that] was a watershed. Up to that time, I think, practically all Catholics accepted that, whether they disobeyed Catholic teaching or not, the teaching was right. It was there that the questioning began."
At a civic reception held in his honour in July 2010, Walsh expressed his sadness at the deep hurt caused to homosexuals, saying that they deserved to be treated "with the deep respect to which every human being is entitled".
Following the passing of a referendum permitting same-sex marriage in the Republic of Ireland on 22 May 2015, Walsh said that he could not support remarks made by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin labelling the result as "not only a defeat for Christian principles, but also a defeat for humanity", and seriously doubted that Parolin's sentiments were shared by Pope Francis.
In an interview on Newstalk's The Pat Kenny Show on 30 August 2021, Walsh opined that land owned by the Catholic Church was owned by the people and should be made available for housing if necessary.
Clerical sex abuse
Ryan Report
Following the publication of the Ryan Report on 20 May 2009, Walsh said it would be "a second injustice [in addition to the abuse of children] if the religious alone were singled out to carry all the blame. All adults share some responsibility (for what went on then), but they didn't want to know."