Associations of Irish Priests " Disturbed" by Silencing of One of Its Founders
By Gerard O'Connell
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has concerns about the writings of the well-known Irish priest, Fr Tony Flannery, on a number of sensitive issues. The Association of Irish Priests (ACP) – which represents about a third of all the priests in Ireland – says it is "disturbed" at the silencing of Father Tony Flannery, one of its founder members. The ACP issued a press statement on the afternoon of Easter Monday, April 9, expressing its "extreme unease and disquiet" at this development. Its statement came after various Irish media, including The Irish Catholic (April 5) and The Irish Times (April 9), had already reported that the Vatican had imposed the silencing. While the ACP statement gave few details of what had actually happened, Vatican Insider has learned from informed sources that in mid-March Fr. Flannery, 65, a member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, popularly known as "The Redemptorists", was summoned to Rome for a meeting with his Superior General, Father Michael Brehl. This happened about a week before the Vatican released the Summary Report of the Findings of the Visitation to the Irish Church ordered by Pope Benedict XVI following the sexual abuse of minors by priests' scandal. In Rome, Fr. Flannery learned that Fr.Brehl, his Canadian Superior General, had earlier been summoned to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), where, according to sources, its prefect, Cardinal William Levada, had informed him that the CDF had concerns about the "orthodoxy" of certain views expressed by Fr.Flannery in articles that he had written for the magazine "Reality". The monthly magazine is published by the Irish Redemptorists, and has a circulation of around 6,500. In particular, the CDF was concerned about the orthodoxy of what Fr. Flannery had written regarding contraception, the possibility of married priests in Ireland, and the ordination of women as priests. The CDF also seems to have problems regarding his leadership role in the Association of Irish Priests, which today has 820 of the 3,400 Irish priests as members, and would like him to withdraw from that. Sources say the Superior General told Fr. Flannery that he cannot write or speak on any of the above mentioned subjects. Furthermore, he has asked the Irish priest to go to a monastery for about six weeks to pray and reflect on all this. At the end of that period, he hopes Fr. Flannery will return "to think with the Church" ("Sentire cum Ecclesia"). Vatican Insider has learned too that the editor of the magazine "Reality", Fr.Gerard Moloney, also a Redemptorist priest, has been instructed not to write on the above mentioned topics. Moreover, the magazine "Reality" has henceforth to be reviewed by a theologian before publication. Cardinal Levada wants the Superior General of the Redemptorists to report back to him by the end of July to assure him that Fr. Flannery's situation has been resolved. Vatican Insider has tried to contact the Superior General to have his comments on this whole matter but he had left Rome, and could not be reached at the time of writing. On the other hand, the ACP, in its statement, commented on what has happened. It said "such an approach, in its individual focus on Fr. Flannery and inevitably by implication on the members of the Association, is an extremely ill-advised intervention in the present pastoral context in Ireland". The ACP affirmed "in the strongest possible terms" its "confidence in and solidarity with Fr Flannery" and stated clearly that it believed that "this intervention is unfair, unwarranted and unwise." It said the issues that have been raised by the Association since its foundation less than two years ago, and by Fr. Flannery as part of the leadership team, "are not an attack on or a rejection of the fundamental teachings of the Church. Rather they are an important reflection by an association of over 800 Irish priests - who have given long service to the Catholic Church in Ireland - on issues surfacing in parishes all over the country." The ACP rejected its depiction by "some reactionary fringe groups" as "a small coterie of radical priests with a radical agenda" and said it has "protested vehemently against that unfair depiction." "We are and we wish to remain at the very heart of the Church, committed to putting into place the reforms of the Second Vatican Council", the Association stated firmly. In this light, it said, "We wish to register our extreme unease and disquiet at the present development, not least the secrecy surrounding such interventions and the questions about due process and freedom of conscience that such interventions surface." The ACP said it believes that at this critical juncture in history "this form of intervention – what Archbishop Martin recently called 'heresy hunting' - is of no service to the Irish Catholic Church and may have the unintended effect of exacerbating a growing perception of a significant 'disconnect' between the Irish Church and Rome". One source told Vatican Insider that the ACP statement only cited a part of Archbishop Martin's comment. He had actually said: "I'm not saying that we're going out heresy-hunting, but what we should be doing is carrying on a dialogue with the theological community, sharpening the reflection in areas that really go beyond what is acceptable in the realm of Catholic theology." The Archbishop had made his remarks, March 20, in response to a request for a comment on the statement in the Summary Findings of the Visitation to the Irish Church which said that today in Ireland there is "a certain tendency, not dominant, but nevertheless fairly widespread among priests, religious and laity, to hold theological opinions at variance with the teachings of the Magisterium." It would seem that Rome's challenge to Fr. Flannery should be seen in this wider context.
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