Vatican attempts to silence its troublesome Irish priests simply draw more support for reform, and encourage unfavourable comparisons with the lethargic response to the scandals of clerical sexual abuse. Vatican authoritarianism simply feeds the tsunami of resistance building up in the Catholic Church.
My primary school teachers were overwhelmingly Irish, sisters of the Dominican and Assumption orders in the earliest years, and then the Christian Brothers, who had left their homes and families to work as missionaries in darkest Africa. In high school, my teachers were primarily South Africans, but also included a few Irish priests. My earliest memory of the Christian Doctrine lessons I received at their hands was of the Roman persecution of the early Christians – and how each death simply strengthened the faith of the others. This message was repeated so often throughout twelve years of schooling that it became, for me, almost an article of faith: the growth of the Church is nourished by the blood of its martyrs.
Today, one might argue that the Roman persecution of Catholic martyrs continues, but with an ironic twist: the persecution is by the central authority of the Church itself, the martyrs are those Irish priests (in company with those of Austria and Belgium, and the American religious women), who are holding fast to the Gospels and central Catholic values. The outcome will be the same: the more that the Vatican attempts to muzzle those troublesome Irish priests, the stronger will grow the Irish resistance. As in Austria, where the papal Holy Thursday warnings against the dissident Priests’ Initiative left the movement unfazed, recent Vatican instructions to Irish priests to cease publishing their opinions has simply fuelled the rebellion. After the news of the attempted silencing, registrations boomed for a planned Irish assembly of religious and laypeople.
Ireland assembly of religious and laypeople calls for open church, re-evaluation
An assembly of the entire church in Ireland took one step closer Monday with an overflow meeting that saw more than 1,000 priests, religious and laypeople gather to discuss the future of the church.
Organizers say they expected about 200 participants to attend the event, which the Association of Catholic Priests sponsored. However, Dublin’s Regency Hotel was packed to capacity, with many at the event forced to stand.
Speaker after speaker pleaded for a more open church centered around a spirit of dialogue. Redemptorist Fr. Tony Flannery, who was recently forbidden to write by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, maintained a discreet presence and was greeted by many well-wishers.
The priests association now represents about 25 percent of Irish priests in active ministry and has called for a re-evaluation of the church’s teaching on sexuality and a “redesigning” of ministry “to incorporate the gifts, wisdom and expertise of the entire faith community, male and female.” The group also wants local involvement in the appointment of bishops.
