SARAH MACDONALD – PUBLISHED 30 APRIL 2014 02:30 AM
Outspoken priest Fr Tony Flannery, who was silenced by the Vatican in 2012, has challenged the Irish bishops to “get rid of the blight” of censuring clergymen.
He was responding to the news that the Vatican has lifted its sanctions against Fr Sean Fagan, following the intervention of Pope Francis and a letter written to the Pontiff by former Irish president Mary McAleese last December.
April 30th.
I had a most pleasant and enjoyable evening in Listowel yesterday. A bit crowd (about 120) arrived for my talk, and the response was very positive. I spoke for nearly fifty minutes, going through Church history in an attempt to explain to people the origins and historical reasons for the problems we are facing in the Church today. And then I took up some of the things Francis is saying, and how he is attempting to correct the aberrations of the past.
I “watched part of the ceremony on television this morning, but then I succumbed to the beautiful morning and the threat of rain and went for a long walk. What I saw of it left me with mixed feelings. I liked the ceremony, enjoying the singing of the old Latin texts, and Francis’ homily.
But I came to it with major questions about the wisdom of canonising people so soon after their death, and about the serious questions hanging over Pope John Paul, particularly his relationship with the Legionaires of Christ and their founder.
