IRELAND
Association of Catholic Priests
Bill O’Herlihy, who describes himself as a committed Catholic, commends Tony Flannery’s book “A Question of Conscience” and finds in it an exposition of how the Vatican and its constituent bodies deal with people who challenge any of their views. (Given as a talk at the launch of the book at Royal Hibernian Academy on 12 September 2013.)
I first met Tony Flannery at his mother’s funeral. He said the funeral Mass and gave the homily. It was very different to the usual – full of love for a mother who had been such an anchor for him and his brothers but challenging, open and enlightening about the conversations they shared before her death. Conversations about the existence of God, the existence of Heaven and a range of other theological and philosophical subjects that marked Tony, in my mind, as a special priest. Not for him the pious platitudes we hear so often in Church. He made you think, he helped your thinking and that in my view is the greatest gift a priest can give us. Or it should be.
Now I’m no philosopher or a Church professional. I’m simply a committed Catholic who tries his best to live according to the rules, who attends mass on Sunday and if possible every day. I don’t have an axe to grind, I’m not part of any movement within the Church, I’m simply an ordinary Joe fighting to hold on to my faith and overcome the doubts which, from my experience, grow rather than decline with age.
I stand here tonight at the launch of Tony’s book, ‘A Question of Conscience’, shocked by the treatment by the Vatican of a good priest; treatment which can only be judged to have followed his role in founding and chairing Ireland’s Association of Catholic Priests; treatment which it seems to me would not have been out of place at the time of the Inquisition.
Now I don’t agree with all of Tony’s views but he is an honest and good man and good priest and what I read of the way he’s been treated makes me ashamed of the actions of those representing my Church.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.