IRELAND
Irish Times
COLIN GLEESON
The head of Redemptorists in Rome yesterday released a statement in which he expressed his “deep regret” at the recent actions of Irish priest Fr Tony Flannery, and disputed the reasons he has given for his clash with the Vatican.
Fr Flannery told a press conference on Sunday he had been threatened with excommunication by Rome’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) for refusing to recant his more liberal views on church teachings concerning women priests, contraception and homosexuality.
Superior General of the Redemptorists Most Rev Fr Michael Brehl said yesterday however that his “deep regret” at the actions of Fr Flannery related not to these views, but to “some of the writings of Fr Flannery which were ambiguous regarding fundamental areas of Catholic doctrine”.
These “fundamental areas” include “the priesthood, the nature of the Church, and the Eucharist”, said Fr Brehl. “He was instructed to undertake a period of prayer and theological reflection to clarify his positions on these matters.
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