Questioning is not rebellion or dissent

Dissent in the Catholic Church, especially from members of the clergy, invariably elicits a mailed fist reaction from the Vatican. The move to silence Fr Tony Flannery, founder of the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) in Ireland, is but the latest example of a ruthless and outdated policy of muzzling those who speak out.

The Spanish Inquisition-style treatment of Fr Flannery, who has rightly raised issues such as clerical celibacy and the ordination of women, is intolerable. Astonishingly, he has been banned by the Vatican from writing his column which has appeared monthly for 14 years in Reality, a magazine published by the Redemptorist order.

The sense of outrage at this development is reflected in the words of Fr Adrian Egan, head of the order’s monastery in Limerick, who is “dismayed, flabbergasted, amazed and hugely disappointed” at the action by the Vatican.