Tony Flannery

I have found this blog very useful, and I am grateful to all the people who visit it every now and again. For me it has two specific uses.

The first one is that I have always found that writing something down is a great way of clarifying my ideas and thoughts, and of course the blog helps to spread my ideas, for whatever they are worth.

The second use is therapeutic, a way of looking at what is going on at a deeper level inside me and bringing it out so that I can look at it — getting it off my chest, as we say.

1. Next week, My 24 and 25, I am attending a conference organised by the Association of Franco Irish Studies, and taking place in the university of Lille, France.

The title of the conference is “Margins and Marginalities in France and/or Ireland”.  I am speaking at the conference on the Friday afternoon about my experience of dealing with Vatican authorities. I am looking forward to that.

2. A German film producer, Christoph Rolf, has produced a documentary film on the life of Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict.

ACP EXPRESSES DISAPPOINTMENT OVER POPE’S COMMENTS ON WOMEN DEACONS

Saturday 11 May 2019

Pope Francis’s comments on women deacons at the press conference on the plane back from Bulgaria, his kicking the can down a timeless road, is a major disappointment. We had come to expect reactions like this from previous popes, but we thought Francis was different, and consequently our disappointment is greater.

The equality of women is critical for the credibility and the future of the Church.