Vatican authorities remain under growing pressure to lift the
ban on 'silenced' Irish priest Fr Tony Flannery, following a
hard-hitting editorial in the influential Catholic weekly The Tablet.
Fr Flannery defied Church authorities last Sunday week to celebrate Mass
in front of a 1,000-strong audience at his local community centre, near
Athenry in Co Galway.
Fr Flannery (70) was censured by the Vatican's Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith in 2012 for his liberal views issues such as
women's ordination, married priests and contraception.
But in its editorial, entitled 'Reclaim the Laity before it's too late', The Tablet urged church leaders to lift the ban on the popular priest to safeguard the church here.
But in its editorial, entitled 'Reclaim the Laity before it's too late', The Tablet urged church leaders to lift the ban on the popular priest to safeguard the church here.