IRELAND
The Irish Times
BREDA O’BRIEN
The clergy can embrace sincere questioning but not to the point of killing core beliefs
ODDLY, BERTRAND Russell, who once declared religion to be “a disease born of fear and a source of untold misery to the human race”, might have some wisdom to offer in the current Catholic debate about “silencing” and the legitimate uses of authority.
He said every community faces two dangers. The first is ossification, through too much discipline and reverence for tradition. The second is dissolution, when growth of individualism makes co-operation impossible.
I know many of the men associated with the Association of Catholic Priests. Some of them are my friends. I admire Fr Seán McDonagh immensely for his work on environmental issues. Fr Bobby Gilmore has worked very hard for the rights of migrants, and before that, for justice for the Birmingham Six.
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