Fr. Tony Flannery
An Irish business of Catholic priests has responded favorably to the Vatican’s new guidance about transgender people and the sacraments, with the priests group describing the guidance as a” really, really positive”step.
Leaders of the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP), a church reform business, heralded as an important step for inclusion the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s new document saying transgender people may get baptized and function as godparents.
Fr. Roy Donovan, an ACP part, called the Vatican speech” an ostentatious welcome” for transgender people, adding, per RTE:
” ‘ We hope that we all take]Pope Francis’s ] example and give people a full welcome and full inclusiveness in the sacramental, pastoral life of the church …here’s a lot more that can be done and I think the statement shows that the church can change its mind and change its practices and policies, and that’s good. It’s really, really good.’ “
ACP members were essential of some of the guidance’s speech, such as an over- focus on the evasion scandal when set against pastorally- focused priorities, like thoroughly integrating LGBTQ+ people in the church. But, the priests are generally hopeful that this guidance is just the first of several steps taken to move the church apart from LGBTQ- negative attitudes and towards a greater welcome of Catholics who have previously been excluded.
The Irish clergy ‘ party has advocated addition for LGBTQ+ Catholics and their allies several times. ACP strongly supported Fr. Tony Flannery, a Redemptorist preacher and lifelong admirer of New Ways Ministry, who was suspended from government by the Vatican in 2012, in part due to his pro- LGBTQ+ opinions.
Flannery yet has continued to write and argue for transformation. He has remained strong in his support, refusing to sign a document which may give him the ability to minister afterwards, but may involve that he embrace anti- LGBTQ+ views. Fr. Flannery’s staunch support, also at such individual charge, is an example of what it means to really get in cooperation with the disadvantaged.
Misneach: Tony Flannery, a video about the Redemptorist preacher, is currently available. The video information Flannery’s life and ministry, highlighting the method through which he was censured and the ways in which, as described in the Galway Daily as” a picture that “gives a message to the priest who has been side-lined by the church to whose existence it has devoted his life to.”
the same as Fr. ACP continues to support him and their shared goal of LGBTQ+ participation, and Flannery is still adamant about speaking out in favor of LGBT+ right. ACP and the Lay Catholic Group (LC G), another Irish church reform group, called for justice in the case of Flannery, who, despite his requests, has never been given a review of his case at the Vatican. The ACP and LCG made a comment:
How can the church recognize the ruling against Tony Flannery in the midst of the Synodal Pathway? The topics he wrote on, which led to his expulsion from the religious ministry, are now being healthyly discussed in the Catholic Church’s open forums.
Fr. Related comments were made by Donovan:
Pope Francis is currently emphasizing a rural technique, which is very, very good. Many of the church’s current doctrines on gender, particularly those on gay people, need to be updated. I believe there is room for a lot more change, both at the philosophical level and the teaching level, if they could change their minds on many other issues.
We hope that as a religion, we will continue to move forward on the path of extreme pleasant, participation, and agricultural encounter—and see fairness for LGBTQ+ Catholics and allies, particularly Fr. Mr. Tony Flannery
—Phoebe Carstens ( they/them ), New Ways Ministry, November 27, 2023
