Questioning the faith of our Fathers

TONY Flannery must have committed some terrible crimes. He is a Redemptorist priest of nearly 50 years standing, who says he is being threatened with ex-communication from the church he has served all his adult life.

Ex-communication is generally reserved for the most grievous of crimes. There are men who have murdered with the most callous intent, yet remain within the fold. There are men who have abused children and managed to avoid being cast out into the spiritual wilderness where the ex-communicated go mad. Yes, indeed, only those sinners who are deigned to be irredeemable, or display a level of evil which suggests they might be possessed, are ejected from the institution’s loving fold.

What grievous crime has this Flannery man committed against his fellow human beings, or even Jesus Christ, through the good offices in the Vatican? Flannery’s crime is to raise questions for discussion within the fold. He has, over the years, asked whether the church’s teachings on contraception are realistic. He has wondered aloud whether there will ever be a position for women priests within the church. On occasion, he has referenced the rather harsh view the Vatican takes towards homosexuality these days.