Tony Flannery

“In the Church there is need for a good and fully-functioning administration, which must be oriented towards the goal of the Church, and based on the principle of justice.

If administration forgets its function …. and is only occupied with itself; if rules and regulations are only used to sustain the administration itself or the power of persons, this is abuse of power by the administration. On the one hand administration is required to fulfil the mission of the Church, and on the other hand, it can directly oppose this mission.

Daniel O’Leary, priest and well-loved spiritual writer, has written his final article published in January issue of The Tablet; he wrote it a few weeks before he died.  It is an extraordinary article.

Below is one extract from it, his thoughts on compulsory celibacy.

SOON I’LL BE next at the waiting-room exit door. I’m anxious to be in my best bib and tucker for the occasion. This, as you know, has long been my desire – to be free of fear and bitterness, and full of love and desire, as I step up for the final inspection.

We are coming to the end of the tenure of Diarmaid Martin as Archbishop of Dublin, according to, among others, himself. He says he believes it is time for a change, and he will have reached retirement age in a little over a year. The discussion has already begun (e.g. in today’s Irish Times), and there are a couple of dimensions to it: an assessment of the performance of Martin in the position; what qualities will be needed by the person who succeeds him, and who that person is likely to be.