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A Question of Conscience
In February 2012 Tony Flannery, a Redemptorist and founder member of the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland, bestselling author and regular columnist with Reality magazine, was informed that the Vatican watchdog, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), was unhappy with some of his writings relating to the priestly ministry in the Church. Tony was summoned to Rome and told that until he revised his views he would not be allowed to minister as a priest or have any dealings with media. He was to step down as leader of the ACP.
Although he offered a statement of clarification and it seemed as if the matter were closed, a few months later the CDF made further demands that were unacceptable to him. He was required to issue a statement that he accepted all the moral teachings of the Church and that women could never be ordained priests. The CDF forbade him to return to priestly ministry, or be involved with the ACP, until he agree to publish this statement. He was put under ‘formal precept of obedience’ not to attend the AGM of the ACP (He did attend it.).
During the time in question, the greater part of a year, the CDF never communicated directly with Tony Flannery. Documentation came through Michael Brehl, leader of the Redemptorists. It was on typed A4 pages without heading, stamp or signature. The CDF warned him about the need for total secrecy and threatened with excommunication and dismissal from the Redemptorists.
Tony Flannery became convinced that he would never be allowed to return to ministry and that the real target of the CDF was his role in the Association of Catholic Priests. He went public on the matter in January 2013. A Question of Conscience, which reproduces the CDF documentation relating to this case, provides conclusive proof of the Vatican’s determination to stamp out what it regards as dissent, no matter how unjust and devious the methods it uses.
Although he offered a statement of clarification and it seemed as if the matter were closed, a few months later the CDF made further demands that were unacceptable to him. He was required to issue a statement that he accepted all the moral teachings of the Church and that women could never be ordained priests. The CDF forbade him to return to priestly ministry, or be involved with the ACP, until he agree to publish this statement. He was put under ‘formal precept of obedience’ not to attend the AGM of the ACP (He did attend it.).
During the time in question, the greater part of a year, the CDF never communicated directly with Tony Flannery. Documentation came through Michael Brehl, leader of the Redemptorists. It was on typed A4 pages without heading, stamp or signature. The CDF warned him about the need for total secrecy and threatened with excommunication and dismissal from the Redemptorists.
Tony Flannery became convinced that he would never be allowed to return to ministry and that the real target of the CDF was his role in the Association of Catholic Priests. He went public on the matter in January 2013. A Question of Conscience, which reproduces the CDF documentation relating to this case, provides conclusive proof of the Vatican’s determination to stamp out what it regards as dissent, no matter how unjust and devious the methods it uses.
- GenresBiographySpirituality
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
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August 16, 2014An Irish friend prevailed on me to read this account of the censoring of Flannery, a Catholic Irish Redemptorist priest. At first, I was less than enthused at the prospect of reading what I thought would probably be a self-serving defense by a individual who got into some dreary trouble with the Vatican.
But once I began reading, the issues went far beyond one individual and get at the heart of the problems confronting the Catholic Church. Flannery outspokenly questioned Church teachings on such issues as the celibacy of priests, sexual morality, birth control, female priests, and the founding and nature of the priesthood itself. Flannery considered himself a good Catholic, but he also felt the need to question and debate some of these issues, ones that the laity were already discussing.
He was a member of a religious order and initially his superior informed him that he had attracted the attention of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which serves as a watchdog for public individuals who espouse views contrary to established Catholic doctrine. It concluded that his views were at odds with official church teaching and that unless he recanted, he would be relieved of his duties. Flannery said he was willing to discuss his positions, the context that provoked them,and possibly reach an understanding, but that he received no cooperation from this Vatican office, only unsigned directives telling him that his views were unacceptable.
As I read this, it seemed to me that the Catholic Church has never gotten over its rigid opposition to the Protestant Reformation of five centuries ago. Instead of embracing salutary Protestant reforms, the Church has resisted them. The emphasis has always been more on what distinguished Catholicism from Protestantism than any commonalities. And I think the reason for this opposition is an identity crisis, one of fear of becoming "Protestant". What would happen to distinctive "Catholic identity"? Would the Church even survive as an institution?
But the horse is already out of the barn. The idea of Catholics being guided by an external, official "majesterium", or teaching authority, has given way to the idea that Catholic should primarily act according to the dictates of their individual consciences, and if they conflict with official "Catholic" doctrine, then it's the doctrine that yields, not their consciences, a pretty Protestant notion. Many, if not most Catholics, have this attitude.
Flannery ends his account on a personal note of sadness. He is a man who gave many years of his life to the priesthood, loved that life, and now to have it removed is devastating. What would he do if he left the priesthood, a man in his 60's? There has always been security in being a priest, and to change vocations in midlife can be frightening. That might well explain why more priests (mostly an older group, given the scarcity of new priests) who share Flannery's concerns don't speak out. They'd lose their job as priests, jobs they're committed to, so if they agree with views like Flannery's, they are discreet about voicing them.
But once I began reading, the issues went far beyond one individual and get at the heart of the problems confronting the Catholic Church. Flannery outspokenly questioned Church teachings on such issues as the celibacy of priests, sexual morality, birth control, female priests, and the founding and nature of the priesthood itself. Flannery considered himself a good Catholic, but he also felt the need to question and debate some of these issues, ones that the laity were already discussing.
He was a member of a religious order and initially his superior informed him that he had attracted the attention of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which serves as a watchdog for public individuals who espouse views contrary to established Catholic doctrine. It concluded that his views were at odds with official church teaching and that unless he recanted, he would be relieved of his duties. Flannery said he was willing to discuss his positions, the context that provoked them,and possibly reach an understanding, but that he received no cooperation from this Vatican office, only unsigned directives telling him that his views were unacceptable.
As I read this, it seemed to me that the Catholic Church has never gotten over its rigid opposition to the Protestant Reformation of five centuries ago. Instead of embracing salutary Protestant reforms, the Church has resisted them. The emphasis has always been more on what distinguished Catholicism from Protestantism than any commonalities. And I think the reason for this opposition is an identity crisis, one of fear of becoming "Protestant". What would happen to distinctive "Catholic identity"? Would the Church even survive as an institution?
But the horse is already out of the barn. The idea of Catholics being guided by an external, official "majesterium", or teaching authority, has given way to the idea that Catholic should primarily act according to the dictates of their individual consciences, and if they conflict with official "Catholic" doctrine, then it's the doctrine that yields, not their consciences, a pretty Protestant notion. Many, if not most Catholics, have this attitude.
Flannery ends his account on a personal note of sadness. He is a man who gave many years of his life to the priesthood, loved that life, and now to have it removed is devastating. What would he do if he left the priesthood, a man in his 60's? There has always been security in being a priest, and to change vocations in midlife can be frightening. That might well explain why more priests (mostly an older group, given the scarcity of new priests) who share Flannery's concerns don't speak out. They'd lose their job as priests, jobs they're committed to, so if they agree with views like Flannery's, they are discreet about voicing them.
January 9, 2020
Questions unnswered
I feel the book gives insight and was written clearly to give great understanding. I wish Fr Tony all the best and hope he gets a resolution.
I feel the book gives insight and was written clearly to give great understanding. I wish Fr Tony all the best and hope he gets a resolution.
May 27, 2015
This book made me very angry as I read it. It relates the true story of an Irish priest who was silenced by the Vatican for his views on marriage and women in the catholic church. He was treated with contempt and disdain by his superiors within his order and by the Vatican in the guise of the Congregation for the doctrine of the faith. It's a book that's easy to read, but it doesn't make for easy reading if you get me.
December 14, 2013
I applaud Tony Flannery's courage in writing and publishing this account of his experience of making sense of a difficult and confusing dilemma, and for emerging with a whole and integral sense of himself and his calling in the broader context of a changing and complicated ecclesiastical landscape.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews