IRELAND
Irish Times
PATSY McGARRY, Religious Affairs Correspondent
MORE THAN 350 attended the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) regional assembly in Cork where speakers warned against accusations that they were against church teaching.
One of the leadership team, Fr Brendan Hoban, said “there are those, we know, who for different reasons would like to pretend that we’re left-wing, radical, raving extremists, that we’re trouble-makers and dissenters, that we’re out to destroy the church.” But, he continued “let me put the record straight”.
He recalled the Orlando Figes’ book The Whispers, Private Life in Stalin’s Russia. It was about a situation where a fearful people had to whisper their criticism.
“We’re the whisperers now but we have to do more than whisper, we have to find our voice, to stake a claim for the right and the responsibility to speak our truth about the church we love.”
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