Tony Flannery

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.

So we leave 2018 behind us, and look forward to the new year, with both hope and trepidation. 

One of the big events of the past year was, of course, of referendum to repeal the 8th. As I recorded earlier in this blog, I voted Yes, but did so with a fair bit of uncertainty, knowing that whichever way the result came out, I wouldn’t see it as a cause for celebration.