Irish priest to break silence order from the Vatican at Dublin press conference

Anyone with a minimum degree of theo theological literary and a knowledge if recent church history will remember another great Redemptorist priest and theologian, Fr. Bernard Haring. He served in the ambulance corps in the German army in WWII. His book, The Law of Christ, revolutionaized moral theology at Vatican II. Basically, he said the greatest law is the law of love, that all the casuistry of this sin, that sin, is balderdash, and that if love is not there, it is all for naught. Thata is a lesson that the boys in the Vatican have forgotten or never learned. So, Tony, keep up the great tradition of your brother, Bernard. Your love and sincerity for the church will win out in the end, and the Vatican crowd will be memorably forgettable.

Father Flannery is the Irish version of Maryknoll Father Roy Bourgeois.

I remember Fr. Flannery fondly from "the Reds" in Limerick and he was always a great Preacher and writer. He is spot on now but must surely realize that in this head to head confrontation, he will be stripped of his Priesthood. "To thine own self be true" Tony. Force them to take the ultimate step and then campaign from without......you have many supporters and you're not the first and won't be the last to leave the Institution and serve humanity better by doing so....

It is a matter of history, perhaps more recent history of the Eastern bloc countries, that women were ordained and served as Roman Catholic priests in those Communist countries until the late '80's. Rome was then happy to dispense with them, once practicing that religion was no longer suppressed by the Communists. It hardly matters what the Roman hierarchy, or even dear Father Flannery believes now - that was a fact for several decades! As always, male structures will use women as they need them, and say, "That will be all, Ladies" when they have served their purposes for them!

When people are muzzled it's usually out of fear for what they have to say.

Smyrnian- maybe so but it gets too much at times.

Anglo - the theme is always ANTI-Catholic. That's why IC brings it up all the time.

It's catholic this & catholic that on this site ffs.... do you realise Niall that there are Irish-born & people of Irish descent who happen NOT to be catholic in the world??

Sorry about the double post! What's with the long lag-time for posts to appear today?

I agree with Markday. It seems naive of RCC leaders, in the face of all the historical evidence to the contrary, to ask people to continue to accept that Christ set up His (their) church hierarchy just before his crucifixion but that it was not implemented until after Constantine declared Christianity the ROMAN STATE religion.

It seems really naive of RCC leaders, in the face of all the historical evidence to the contrary, to ask people to continue to accept that Christ set up His (their) church hierarchy just before his crucifixion but that it was not implemented until after Constantine declared Christianity the ROMAN STATE religion. Please read about the early (pre-Rome) Church, its FEMALE leaders and how it changed after Constantine, before you pass judgment on this priest.

The report says that in the article the Redemptorist priest, wrote that he no longer believed that ‘the priesthood as we currently have it in the church originated with Jesus’ or that he designated ‘a special group of his followers as priests’. He wrote: “It is more likely that some time after Jesus, a select and privileged group within the community who had abrogated power and authority to themselves, interpreted the occasion of the Last Supper in a manner that suited their own agenda." Anyone who has studied theology in a Catholic seminary (I am one of them) knows that what Fr. Tony says is good theology. Christ did not establish a clerical priesthood nor a rigid institution to carry out his wishes. The apostles were not "priests" in the sense we have them today. They were apostles, and Mary Magdalene was one of them. If Christ were alive today he would cast the Vatican crowd out of the temple. Tony, we are behind you. Ad multos anos! ”

What connection to Christ or God does an organization have that says that a priest may go back to his ministry if he LIES about his faith? The Vatican knows what this priest believes and has publicly professed. If he doesn't fit in with their good ole boys club's rules, the honorable thing to do would be to kick him out. To say that he can stay IF he LIES shows just how far they have wandered from Christ's teachings. They are saying he can only stay if he breaks one of God's commandments. The RCC does much good in the world today but, as all humans are prone to do, its leaders have become ensnared in an ever widening web of lies that their forbearers began long ago.

I agree 100% with katiemac that "truth" is either THE truth or it is a lie told by someone who has something to gain by deluding others. When masses were said in Latin and when most people could barely read their own vernacular let alone Latin, the ROMAN Catholic Church could con Christians into believing that their hierarchy was ordained by Christ. Things are very different now. Everyone now knows how Christ's Church was organized BEFORE the ROMANS got their hands on it and it was nothing like that of the current ROMAN Catholic Church.

katiemac - I agree 100% with you that "truth" is either THE truth or it is a lie told by someone who has something to gain by deluding others. When masses were said in Latin and when most people could barely read their own vernacular let alone Latin, the ROMAN Catholic Church could con Christians into believing that their hierarchy was ordained by Christ. Things are very different now. Everyone now knows how Christ's Church was organized BEFORE the ROMANS got their hands on it and it was nothing like that of the current ROMAN Catholic Church. What connection to Christ or God does an organization have that says that a priest may go back to his ministry if he LIES about his faith? The Vatican knows what this priest believes and has publicly professed. If he doesn't fit in with their good ole boys club's rules, the honorable thing to do would be to kick him out. To say that he can stay IF he LIES shows just how far they have wandered from Christ's teachings. They are saying he can only stay if he breaks one of God's commandments. The RCC does much good in the world today but, as all humans are prone to do, its leaders have become ensnared in an ever widening web of lies that their forbearers began long ago. It seems really naive of them, in the face of all the historical evidence to the contrary, to ask people to accept that Christ set up His (their) church hierarchy just before his crucifixion but that it was not implemented until after Constantine declared Christianity the ROMAN STATE religion. Please read about the early (pre-Rome)Church, its female leaders and how it changed after Constantine before you pass judgment on this priest.