‘No question’ of casting priest out of Church

There is “no question” of Fr Tony Flannery facing excommunication, senior Vatican sources have told The Irish Catholic newspaper.

According to this week’s edition of the paper, senior sources in Rome have also insisted that the case hinges on whether or not the Redemptorist priest accepts the Church’s teaching on the nature of the priesthood.

During a press conference in Dublin at the weekend, Fr Flannery, 66, a founder member of the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP), said he was “threatened with excommunication from the Catholic Church for suggesting that, in the future, women might become priests and calling for this and other matters to be open for discussion”.