IRELAND
Galway Advertiser
An Athenry cleric who was placed under investigation and silenced by the Vatican earlier this year for his outspoken views is now being put under further pressure to sign retraction documents.
In April of this year the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP), which represents more than 800 priests, came out in support of founding member Fr Tony Flannery and branded his forced silencing by the Vatican as “ill-advised” and “unfair”. The group issued the statement of solidarity after Fr Flannery was placed under investigation by the Vatican because of his outspoken views. The Vatican also ordered the discontinuation of Fr Flannery’s column in the religious magazine Reality, a column which he has written for 14 years.
According to reports this week, the Redemptorist cleric is now facing a new challenge. It is understood he has been contacted by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) and given documents to sign demanding his retraction on a certain number of his liberal views. These include his views on the campaign for women’s ordination and married priests, a complete re-think on contraception, and on what he views as the harsh and insensitive language used by the Church in its teaching on homosexuality. Reports also suggest that Fr Flannery may have been singled out because of his support of Taoiseach Enda Kenny who critised the Vatican following the release of the Cloyne Report.
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