Fr D'Arcy Hits Back over Year of Vatican Censure

By Niall O'Connor
The Herald
April 27, 2012

http://www.herald.ie/news/fr-darcy-hits-back-over-year-of-vatican-censure-3094170.html

OUTSPOKEN Fr Brian D'Arcy has spoken of his "disappointment" after being censured by the Vatican for more than a year.

It has emerged that the popular newspaper columnist has been disciplined by Catholic bosses over the contents of a number of his articles.

The high-profile priest has admitted that he has been living with the censure for 14 months -- meaning all his articles must be submitted to the Vatican for approval.

Fr D'Arcy, who has previously revealed that he was abused by a priest, has been vocal in his criticism of the Catholic Church and its handling of the child sex-abuse scandal.

He is the fifth Irish Catholic cleric known to have been censured by the Vatican in recent times.

It has emerged that four articles penned by Fr D'Arcy caused considerable alarm among the Vatican hierarchy.

The articles concerned how the Vatican dealt with the issues of homosexuality and child sex abuse, as well as the issues of women priests and why US Catholics are leaving the church.

Fr D'Arcy's weekly columns for the Sunday World have ruffled feathers among his bosses.

Fr D'Arcy, who is based in Fermanagh, could not be reached for comment this morning. However in a brief statement he said the move was "disappointing".