Cathal BarryPriest’s condemnation of industrial schools rejected by Government
A Roscommon priest who denounced the incarceration of children in industrial schools as early as 1946 is moving at “lightning speed” towards becoming a saint.
Fr Edward Flanagan, the founder of Boys Town in the United States, was attacked by the Government in 1946 after he labelled State-funded Church-run industrial schools as “a scandal, unChristlike and wrong”.
The Roscommon native, who adopted a progressive approach to running institutions in the US, was condemned by then Minister for Justice Gerald Boland. He dismissed the cleric’s concerns saying the Government was “not disposed to take any notice” of what Fr Flanagan said “because his statements were so exaggerated that I did not think people would attach any importance to them”.
Now Fr Flanagan looks set to be canonised as officials in the US prepare to present his case to the Vatican.
According to Steve Wolf, president of the Fr Flanagan League Society of Devotion, the process was moving at “lightning speed”. He credited background work at Boys Town, and priests and parishioners in the Archdiocese of Omaha where Fr Flanagan was based for most of his life.
“Their dedication and focus is moving this cause forward at a speed that is almost unheard of. Something really extraordinary is happening here,” Mr Wolf said.
Fr Flanagan’s cause for beatification was opened by the Archdiocese of Omaha in March 2012. Since then, documents have been collected on his life and ministry, and testimony gathered from dozens of witnesses. Local officials now plan to submit their findings to the Vatican next St Patrick’s Day.
When he arrived back in the US after his dismissal in Ireland, Fr Flanagan said: “I wonder what God’s judgment will be with reference to those who hold the deposit of faith and who fail in their God-given stewardship of little children.”
Fidelma Croghan, one of the organisers of the Fr Flanagan Prayer Group in his native Ballymoe, told The Irish Catholic she was “delighted” by the news.
“In Ballymoe, we have a massive interest in Fr Flanagan’s cause and a passion for keeping it going. We are extremely proud of Fr Flanagan’s story. To come from such a humble and poor background and go on to achieve what he did is phenomenal.
“At a time when the Church in Ireland is going through such major difficulties, Fr Flanagan is an extremely positive example of priesthood.
“He was a man ahead of his time and is not well known enough in Ireland for what he achieved. I’m glad to see he is getting some recognition now,” she said.
Fr Flanagan left Ireland in 1904 and was ordained a priest eight years later. In 1917, he hit on the idea of a “boys town” which offered education and shelter for poor and vulnerable boys in the community. He famously said: “There’s no such thing as a bad boy.”
Spencer Tracey and Mickey Rooney starred in the 1938 movie Boys Town, which made a national hero out of Fr Flanagan.
To date, 16 alleged miracles reported over the past 10 years have been attributed to Fr Flanagan’s intercession. Generally, two miracles are required for sainthood – one for beatification and the second for canonisation.