Fr Flannery may not be burned at the stake but the censure itself is frightening

COMPARE and contrast, if you will, the utterances of two Catholic priests.

Priest A, on one of the most popular national radio programmes, says he has reservations about celibacy and the Church’s ban on married priests. He goes on to suggest that homosexuality is intrinsic and indeed evident in an individual from the time they’re about three years old, ergo something, if expressed, that might not be sinful.

Priest B says much the same, except not on national radio, where he seldom appears. He says it in a small-circulation religious magazine. Priest B is currently under investigation for heresy by the Vatican. The Vatican doesn’t announce the terms of reference, process, or duration of its investigation, but those in the know say that if he is lucky, he will undergo six weeks of silent reflection and be allowed, thereafter, to resume writing and speaking, as long as he steers clear of contentious subjects such as celibacy or gays within the Church, or has his words scrutinised by a clerical censor before their publication is authorised by Rome. If he’s unlucky or obstinate, he could be in deep trouble.