IRELAND
Association of Catholic Priests
More than 250 priests attended a meeting of the Association of Catholic Priests in Athlone on Wednesday February 20th 2013. The meeting opened with a prayer asking God for guidance, wisdom and support so those who were taking part in the meeting would engage in meaningful discussions which would help them in their ministry to build up the body of Christ. We prayed for Pope Benedict XVI, that God will grant him good health and peace in mind and body. We prayed for those who are tasked with electing the next Pope, that the wellbeing of the Catholic Church be foremost in their minds as the cast their vote.
After the prayer, Brendan Hoban outlined the work of the ACP during the past few months. We expressed our unhappiness with the present procedures for stepping down priests against whom allegations of sex abuse have been made. We argued that in their present form, the current procedures compromise the basic constitutional rights of the priest.
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.