Courtney McGrailStaff Reporter
A founding member of the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) has described a letter from the hierarchy to the organisation as a “sugar-coated push off”.
Redemptorist Fr Tony Flannery also expressed the view that future meetings between the ACP and the Irish bishops’ conference would be a waste of time.
He was responding to a letter to the ACP leadership team from Bishop of Kerry Ray Browne following on from a meeting between the ACP and some of the bishops.
In the letter, Dr Browne reminded the ACP that “as regards the voice of priests, the bishops emphasised that the strategic role of the diocesan Councils of Priests is particularly important.
“The Bishops’ Conference therefore renewed its commitment to meeting twice yearly with the chairpersons of Councils of Priests from around the country,” Dr Browne said.
Fr Flannery – who is currently in dispute with the Church over controversial views he voiced at odds with Catholic teaching – described the letter as “clearly a sugar-coated push off for the ACP.
“They will talk to the chairpersons of Priests’ Councils, but clearly not to the ACP.
“It would appear to be the end of any possibility of dialogue. Would there be any point in looking for a further meeting? I don’t think so,” Fr Flannery said on his blog.
In the letter, Bishop Browne did not rule out a possible future national synod of the Church in Ireland.
He said: “the bishops are anxious to learn from the experiences in recent years of local consultations and listening exercises at diocesan level.
“In a future bishops’ meeting, the bishops will hear from Bishop [Brendan] Leahy about the lessons learned from the recent Synod in Limerick,” Dr Browne said.
The ACP – which says it represents about 1,000 Irish priests – is due to discuss the letter at an upcoming meeting in Athlone.
Fr Flannery dismissed the bishops’ letter as “a classic illustration of why the Irish Church is in the mess that it is, and why it is hard to be in any way hopeful for the future”.