Martha Heizer and her husband Gert have been excommunicated by the Church, apparently with the approval, or possibly even the initiative, of Pope Francis.
I attended a Church Reform conference in Austria last autumn where I had the pleasure of meeting Martha. She is head of We Are Church, Germany. By any standards she is an impressive lady, having a deep love for the Church and for the faith. She is also kind, gentle and warm.
Tony Flannery’s book A Question of Conscience, is a riveting description of what it is like to be put on trial by the Vatican. Flannery’s case is one that provokes strong feelings from both sympathisers and critics. Fr. Adrian Egan, the head of Flannery’s order is Limerick, told the Irish Central website that the Vatican’s behaviour evoked ‘the Hoover days in America’ when minor allegations could get passed all the way up the chain of command and result in punitive measures.
When I was suspended from all priestly ministry two years ago I found myself with two options. Either I could settle down into a quiet life of retirement, or find some other forum in which I could communicate. While I was trying to decide about this Pope Francis was elected, and a new energy swept through the Church. A promise of some real reform began to open up.
So I decided that I would see if there was any way in which I could support and encourage the reform movement.
