My brother died last Friday. He had dementia for a number of years, so we were gradually losing him, and in the end his death was a relief, and a release for him. He was 78 years old. He had been a Redemptorist, like myself. As the oldest in the family he led the way, and to some extent my decision to join the Redemptorists was partly due to the fact that Peter had gone before me.
Some initial responses from people who have read my book
I have just finished reading From the Outside in just two sessions, and I found it a most insightful look at the modern Church both here in Ireland and elsewhere. You raise so many good points with whichI agree. The points, on which we might diverge, pale in comparisonwith what is truly pressing.
You will be aware of the phrase “You can lead the horse to water, but you cannot make it drink”, and it is one which constantly comes to mind when I look at the Church in Ireland.
Brendan Hoban’s review of From the Outside
Review of Tony Flannery’s book ‘From the Outside’ by Brendan Hoban
Brendan Hoban
Many years ago, at an inter-church meeting, a Protestant minister who later became a great friend asked me the question: ‘Can you tell me this? Is it true that Catholics believe there are four persons in one God – Father, Son, Spirit and Our Lady?’
Once he asked the question, I understood why he asked it because we were at the time in the midst of an outbreak of what theologians sometimes call ‘Mariolatry’, the tradition of devotion to Mary that can lose the run of itself.
