“I refuse to be terrified into submission.” These are the words of Rev. Tony Flannery, an
Irish Catholic Priest in Dublin, Ireland. The
Vatican asked Fr. Flannery to create, sign, and publish a statement which said
he agreed with many things that were contrary to his beliefs. Some of the things that he would agree to
include that fact that women shouldn’t be ordained as priests and that he would
follow all of the church’s teachings on matters such as homosexuality and
contraception. Being ejected from the
Vatican last year, publishing such a document would allow him to be readmitted
into the Vatican ministry. However, Fr.
Flannery believes that such a statement is against all the he believes.
The Vatican had written a letter to Fr. Flannery’s superior
ordering him to remove Fr. Flannery from his ministry and to ensure he did not
publish any more articles in religious publications. Fr. Flannery had been, in the past, writing
articles and books that caused people to think and consider things that are
often times considered controversial.
But now, the Vatican is asking him to recant all that he has said and
believes.
One specific article that the Church has asked Fr. Flannery
to recant is one published in 2010 in an Irish religious magazine called Reality.
He said that he didn’t believe that our current priesthood originated
with Jesus and that Jesus did NOT designate a specific group of his followers
to act as priests. He said that instead
it was a select group of people after Jesus that gave themselves authority and
interpreted the Last Suppers in a way that would fit their own needs. Fr. Flannery claims that the Vatican wants
him to affirm that the church was instituted by Christ, the church has a
structure of power that was given to it by Christ to remain permanent, and that
the bishops are the successors of the apostles.
Fr. Flannery is now threatened by “canonical penalties” for
his view that can be seen as heresy.
These penalties include excommunication from the church.
I believe that this situation really doesn’t have a good solution. If the Vatican excommunicates Fr. Flannery
for speaking such beliefs, it could be seen as morally wrong for suppressing
one’s speech and beliefs. But if they
let him keep teaching these beliefs, they are risking heresy to be spread and
allowing Catholics to be taught ideas contrary to what the church teaches. But what do you think? Is it right for the Vatican to force Fr.
Flannery to recant his beliefs? Or is
Fr. Flannery justified in speaking his own opinion of the church? For those who read this and are Catholic,
this is something you might want to think about. Who is right in this situation? Who is justified and who is in the wrong?
I have to support the Vatican on this one. If Fr. Flannery is so divided against the Church, why did he become a priest anyway? It is up to a person to decided what they believe is right, bit they should not express their own beliefs under the name of another party that disagrees with them. If you do t like the Church's teaching, that is your problem and belief, and while it has value, it does not mean that it is universally right or wrong. If you disagree with the church, then leave it. Don't give others a false depiction of the Vatican, because this can both turn away people who would normally agree and accept people who disagree, which leads to the ruin of the church. I respect his beliefs, but I feel we should not allow people so against our teachings to teach others a false lesson about the Catholic faith.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless