Wednesday 11 September 2013

OPEN LETTER TO FATHER TONY FLANNERY

OPEN LETTER TO FATHER TONY FLANNERY
FATHER TONY FLANNERY
FATHER TONY FLANNERY (65) (IRELAND) IS A PRIEST OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC REDEMPTORIST ORDER WHO HAS BEEN SILENCED BY THE VATICAN FOR HIS LIBERAL VIEWS AND IS NOT ALLOWED TO MINISTER PUBLICLY AS A PRIEST.

THIS WEEK HE PUBLISHES A BOOK ABOUT HIS "SILENCING" AND IT IN HE ASKS VARIOUS QUESTIONS.

I WISH, HERE, TO WRITE AN OPEN LETTER TO FATHER FLANNERY:

DEAR TONY, MY BROTHER PRIEST,

17 MONTHS AGO YOU WERE SILENCED BY THE VATICAN FOR YOUR LIBERAL VIEWS. 

IT IS NOW 27 YEARS - 703 MONTHS - SINCE BISHOP CAHAL DALY SACKED ME AS A PRIEST OF THE DIOCESE OF DOWN AND CONNOR - EFFECTIVELY SILENCING ME.

AT THE TIME I WAS DEVASTATED. I HAD SLEEPLESS NIGHTS AND PANIC ATTACKS. AS A RESULT OF MY SACKING AND THE IMMENSE STRESS ASSOCIATED WITH IT I DEVELOPED CROHN'S DISEASE - AN INFLAMATORY BOWEL DISEASE THAT IS WELL KNOWN TO BE PARTLY CAUSED BY INTENSE STRESS. 

WITHIN 5 YEARS OF MY SACKING I HAD TO UNDERGO MAJOR SURGERY AND FOR THE PAST 27 YEARS I HAVE HAD TO LIVE ON A DAILY BASIS WITH THE EFFECTS OF ONLY HAVING PART OF A BOWEL. 

I UNDERWENT 5 YEARS OF THERAPY AS A CLIENT IN ORDER TO TRULY OWN MYSELF AND CLAIM FOR MYSELF MY FREEDOM AS A SON OF GOD. 

FOR 27 YEARS THE CATHOLIC CHURCH HAS NOT GIVEN MY 1 PENNY OF INCOME. IN FACT BISHOP DALY PROPHESIED AT THE TIME THAT I WOULD GO UNDER FINANCIALLY WITH 6 WEEKS. 27 YEARS LATER I SILL HAVE NOT APPEARED IN STUBBS GAZETTE :-)

I HAVE MADE AN INCOME FROM MY INDEPENDENT CATHOLIC MINISTRY. BUT IF NECESSARY I WOULD HAVE DRIVEN A LORRY FROM MONDAY TO FRIDAY AND BEEN A PRIEST ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. 


HOWEVER GOD, IN HIS UNSURPASSABLE PROVIDENCE, HAS NEVER YET ABANDONED ME TO THE LORRY - AND I KNOW HE NEVER WILL. I AM NOW 61.


IN YOUR NEW BOOK YOU EXPRESS SOME OF THE FEARS YOU HAVE:

1. BEING FRIGHTENED AT GOING OUT ON YOUR OWN.

2. WONDERING IF YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO COPE.

3. WORRYING ABOUT WHO WOULD LOOK AFTER YOU IN YOUR OLD AGE.

4. THE FEAR OF LONLINESS.

5. WORRIES ABOUT FINANCES.

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1. YOU ARE NOT ON YOUR OWN AND YOU NEVER HAVE BEEN OR NEVER WILL BE. GOD YOUR FATHER IS WITH YOU. JESUS YOUR BROTHER WALKS WITH YOU. THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDES AND ENLIGHTENS YOU. YOUR NAME IS CARVED ON THE PALM OF GO'D HAND. EVERYTIME HE LOOKS AT YOUR HAND HE THINKS ABOUT YOU.

SECONDLY, YOU HAVE MANY FRIENDS AND ADMIRERS. THE TRUE ONES WILL NOT ABANDON YOU IF YOU LEAVE "THE REDS". YOU WILL BE BETTER OFF WITHOUT THOSE WHO DO ABANDON YOU. THEY ARE NOT TRUE FRIENDS IN THE FIRST PLACE.  

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2. WILL YOU BE ABLE TO COPE?

INITIALLY IT WILL BE HARD. LIKE ME YOU WILL HAVE FEAR, ANXIETY, PANIC ATTACKS, INSOMNIA, ETC. FOR A SHORT TIME YOU MIGHT NEED TO HAVE SOME DIAZAPEM AND SLEEPING TABLETS. YOU MIGHT EVEN DRINK A BIT MORE THAN YOU NORMALLY DO. BUT EVENTUALLY YOU WILL FIND THAT YOU CAN COPE. EVENTUALLY YOUR SPIRITUAL, MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL RESERVES WILL KICK IN AND SURPRISE YOU.  

YOUR TRUE FRIENDS WILL RALLY - AND YOU WILL MAKE NEW FRIENDS WHO RECOGNISE THE "PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS" PROPHET YOU WILL BECOME. AND YOU WILL HAVE THE GRACE OF GOD ABOUT YOU. OF COURSE YOU WILL COPE.

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3. WHO WILL LOOK AFTER YOU IN YOUR OLD AGE?

FIRST OF ALL GOD WILL LOOK AFTER YOU THE WAY HE LOOKED AFTER ABRAHAM.

YOU WILL HAVE A STATE PENSION OF EURO 187 A WEEK. 

YOU WILL HAVE ACCESS TO A DOCTOR, MEDICATION, HOSPITAL ETC.

YOU WILL HAVE FRIENDS WHO WILL LOOK AFTER YOU. 

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4. WILL YOU BE LONELY?

MAYBE YOU WILL BE. A LITTLE? YOU MIGHT MISS THE REDEMPTORIST DINING ROOM, COMMUNITY ROOM AND DRINKS CABINET. 

YOU WILL MISS THE RESPECTABILITY OF BEING "A PRIEST IN GOOD STANDING".

YOU WILL MISS THE GIDDY NUNS FLOCKING AROUND YOU AS A RELIGIOUS CELEB.


YOU WILL MISS THE IRISH TIMES AND RTE RINGING YOU FOR A OPINION.

BUT TONY - THE LORD WILL BE WITH YOU. HE WILL COURT YOU LIKE A LOVER FROM THE SONG OF SONGS. 

YOUR TRUE FRIENDS AND YOUR NEW FRIENDS WILL SURROUND YOU AND RAISE YOU UP.

AFTER A WHILE YOU WILL BE AS LONELY FOR YOUR FORMER LIFE AS THE ISRAELITES WERE LONELY FROM EGYPT :-)

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5. FINANCES:

I HAVE A PROPOSITION FOR YOU:


a. YOU CAN LIVE HERE AT THE ORATORY IN LARNE AS A NON PAYING GUEST FOR AS LONG AS YOU WISH- A 5 BEDROOMED DETACHED HOUSE WITH A LARGE GARDEN WITH A PRIVATE CHAPEL ON THE GROUNDS.

b. I WILL SEE TO IT THAT IF YOU SPEND YOUR EURO 183 WEEKLY PENSION I WILL TOP IT UP.

c. I WILL FEED YOU EVERY DAY AND PROVIDE YOU WITH A NIGHT-CAP IF YOU LIKE ONE.

d. I WILL REGISTER YOU WITH A DOCTOR AND THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE.

e. YOU WILL HAVE FREE TRAVEL THROUGHOUT IRELAND.

f. I WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH A MINISTRY.

g. YOU WILL HAVE NO VOW OF OBEDIENCE TO ANYONE.

h. YOU WILL ONLY HAVE A VOW OF CHASTITY IF YOU WANT ONE.
i. YOU WILL NOT LIVE IN EITHER ABJECT OR GRINDING POVERTY.

j. YOU CAN INVITE ANYONE YOU WANT HERE.


SO, MY DEAR FATHER TONY - THE REST IS UP TO YOU.
FREEDOM


WITH LOVE,

PAT







61 comments:

  1. Bishop Buckley,

    I think your offer to our brother priest Tony Flannery is most generous. I hope that he opts for the freedom you offer him rather than his continued clavery to Rome

    PP - Diocese of Cork & Ross

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have spoken with Tony many times and he is a very good and genuine priest,a man who wants what a lot of us want,change,not for the sake of it but for a more just,equal,compassoinate and life affirming church where the sign over the door really does say all are loved and welcome here.For these views he has been cast adrift,sent into limbo,his lifes work taken away by the stroke of a Vatican pen,the ink provided by the Irish Bishops whose lack of support is cowardly.I have one question for Tony..Why would you want to stay? The offer from Pat is a real and genuine one,maybe it is time for all of us to look seriously at a National All Ireland Catholic Church,maybe its time just to walk away and as Pat says...God will provide.Mike

    ReplyDelete
  3. As a Priest of the Oratory Society,

    I say to Tony, you would be most WELCOME. When Pat sends out an invite like that he means it with all his heart, as you know. In fact to any other priest out there who needs assistance, we are a very strong and discrete community.

    We can all help and minister to each other in complete openness.

    God Bless

    Priest of the Oratory Society

    ReplyDelete
  4. WELL DONE PAT. I hope Tony avails of your offer. Things have come a long way since my time. I told my Aunt I would be staying a few days but I knew well I would be in her sapare room 12 months later. It's scary being cast out like the leppers of old I should know for I was that lepper. Pat have you sent a copy of the above to Tony's address by Post? Perhaps you could put an add in the Jobcentres North & South. I wonder what the response would be? Mind you people thought Jesus was a crackpot! Sean

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  5. Father Flannery,

    First of all you are a heretic and need to renounce your various heresies. Then your censure will be lifted.

    If you join the mad queer Buckley - you will be a heretic and a schismatic.

    Sort yourself out and start living your vows.

    PP D&C

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HERETIC! WE WANT THE INQUISITION! BURN FLANNERY WITH HOLY OIL. GO ON YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO! DEAR PP D&C YOU ARE A GOBSHITE IN MY OPINION. Take your frustrations up with your Spiritual Director if you have one.

      ( If one is a heritic & a schismatic can one claim a third title free) I'm a Lord y'know Laird of Lochaber in Scotland. It cost me about 25Quid & is perfectly legal. I have the deed in a frame on the wall. Sean

      My wife Clarice would like to add.. Im giving her the laptop now....Rather be a heratic than a zenophobic twat like yourself PP. Come out of your cave & join the 21st century At Least Buckley has the balls to stand up to his sexuality and put his name to what he says.

      Delete
  6. I am a D&C priest. I wish to disassociate myself completely from the comment of the above "PP D&C" which is uncharitable, untheological and extremely offensive on many fronts.

    Some years ago I had occasion to see the assistance of Pat. He never once breached my confidentiality and treated me with respect and compassion. He saw to it that my then bishop, Paddy Walsh, gave me a hearing and justice - which he had been denying me for quite a while.

    I am not a close friend of Pat's and have not been in touch with him since he helped me. But I cannot let my colleague's unkindness and injustice go unchallenged.

    I am still in the process of growing testicles.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The pedophilia scandals, the church's reaction to them, and their constant obsession with gynecology -- taken together at a certain point, it was probably two or three years ago, I said, 'Enough.' Every time I sit in the pew I ratify this behaviour, and I'm not going to ratify it anymore.

    And I have said nothing of the other issues.

    Well done Fr Flannery and I pray for all those who stand up to the bullies.

    Joan



    ReplyDelete
  8. Another priestette from the Cathedral of Democracy making a loud, public defection.

    I love my FAITH - as for the others aaawwww! Professional GODMEN please, well done Fr Tony and God Bless.

    F

    ReplyDelete
  9. In my humble opinion, the Church needs input from the laity on a higher level. It also needs to “open the window” wider and allow for variety in service to the Church. Women should be allowed to become Permanent Deacons. They would be a big help to the Church, and it would be nothing new, since the Church had female Deacons at one time. Diocean Priests should be given the option of marrying before ordination. Gay People ought to again be able to have their commitment to each other blessed by the Church. In the 11th and 12th Century, the Church blessed such unions.
    The Church needs to take a realistic stand on Contraception! Most Catholics who are married use Contraception. The only other alternative is abortion!


    I look to Fr Flanery and his kind for leadership, the PP from D&C scares me and most of us do not want him or his elk near us, ooohhhh, go away!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. The Church is inspired by God. And the Church increasingly wants priests to be married and the qualifications for becoming a priest not regulated to one’s genitalia. The unelected Church administrators are fighting with the Church, and therefore with God.

    I might attend your chapel myself Bishop, tired of the usual bla bla from Emmerson, nice man but a church man and cannot see beyond the coldness of structure!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Did you know if a priest in the Church of england wants to marry & they or their prospective partner have been divorced they are required to undergo a C4 investigation in canon law. As my wife was divorced I am now waiting for the new Bishop of Manchester to take his seat before we discover what this joyful adventure may unfold. Sean

      Delete
  11. Prayers for Fr. Flannery. I cannot imagine leaving the communion of Saints. Certainly, those who have gone before us witnessed the element of human weakness that infiltrated the Church. And, yet, were still able to see God’s hand steering the Church. He is probably quite bruised from all the pressure of the secular world. Thanks for your inspired response, Bishop Pat.



    ReplyDelete
  12. They almost never leave over things like the Real Presence, the need for the sacraments. I guess that is the sad thing. They don’t understand those things at all because if they did, they would never leave. Never.

    Wake up church.

    Maria

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  13. I have problems with the leadership of the church. They are doing great harm to the church. That being said I am not going to let the scribes and pharisees and the neocons drive me out of Christ’s church. It is after all His church, not the pope’s or the curia’s. I ran across a quote from Frederick Douglas which struck me. “Power never concedes without demand, it never has and it never will.”

    Well I will remain and demand that the leadership repent, reform, renew and rededicate to the spirit of Vatican II. I am convinced that the Holy Spirit today works through the body of Christ, the people of God. Fr Tony is one of us and needs our help and assistance - Fr Tony you will want for nothing.

    Fra

    ReplyDelete
  14. You are so wise and so blessed! God Bless You for your witness! Keep speaking and writing - the souls you will help to save are immeasurable! God Bless Bishop Pat.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I will always be Catholic, have been for 68 years, but I am deeply hurt and embarrassed by my church. Women are second class citizens as we cannot be priests or deacons; priests are not allowed to marry (have known several good men who have left for that reason); there are many evils with pedophilia and the cover-ups and now the scandal leaked by the Pope’s butler.

    I often wonder if Jesus were alive today,if He would recognise the church. However, I claim the promise He made…“and the gates of hell will
    not prevail against it”...even if that means the Pope and the Cardinals!! What are we to do??

    See you at Mass in Larne soon.

    Bev

    ReplyDelete
  16. Bishop Pat,

    I would like to send a few thousand pounds to support Fr Flanery and yourself. Shall I send it through the post?

    Mary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mary,

      Best to call me on UK 07900 287283

      or email

      bishoppatbuckley@hotmail.com

      Bishop Pat

      Delete
  17. At some point one has to wonder if the hierarchy of the Church is truly inspired by the Holy Spirit, and this issue is causing me grave difficulty.

    To say the continuing scandals of the hierarchy are faults of human nature implies that human nature, and not the Holy Spirit, is in control of the hierarchy. Otherwise, the Holy Spirit would inspire these men to behave less as sinners, if for nothing else than to prevent scandal with God’s church.

    More importantly, they would be inspired to set an example. While we are all sinners, wouldn’t one expect the Holy Spirit to keep an eye on the people selected for positions of power within the Church? Why not? If the argument is, “they can choose to accept or reject their calling,” then how are we to know when that occurs, and what choice has been made by whom?

    We’re just supposed to trust them? When our confessor turns out to be a child rapist, we’re just supposed to accept that he, like all sinners, made a bad choice? Why did the Holy Spirit allow us to confess our sins to this monster? “Oh, no, you were confessing to God, the priest is just a mediator”, is a truly ridiculous response, since he is supposed to be the representative of God himself in the confessional.

    This doesn’t have to trouble anyone else, but it certainly troubles me.

    Well done Bishop Pat, you have my support in many ways.

    Tom

    ReplyDelete
  18. I just entered the Church 2 years ago. I am always amazed when I read comments suggesting that the Church should throw open its windows, or get with the times or ordain woman or this or that or the other. It is strange because the Church is the mystical body of Christ. To say the Church should do this or that would be like standing at the foot of the cross and saying “oh Jesus, you really should have done this all differently and if you do send an advocate to guide us in truth, makes sure that it is contemporary truth and not that old infinate truth that was so cool for Moses but won’t seem so great when You come in Glory”

    I’m not making any doctrinal statemens. I just don’t get all the complaining about how the Church is just not quite as good as it could be if only Jesus was God and would take our opinions more into account because we have proven over and over again how darn competent we are at saving ourselves thank you very much.

    Alan

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  19. I think everyone would benefit by refocusing on the fact that there actually is a heaven and a hell- there really is a God and there is a Satan! As a convert to the Catholic Church from Anglicanism, I had a lot of questions about why and how so much evil can be propagated-even by basicly good people. Reading C.S. Lewis’s “The Screwtape Letters” helped me with this tremendously. It is a dialog between a senior demon and his nephew in which the elder demon advises the younger how to tempt his “subject” away from God and virtue in order to win the subject’s soul for hell.
    In trying to cope with such things as the priest sex scandal and the fact that we’ve had 50 years of poor catechesis, it finally dawned on me that the reason is that this is how Satan and his demons operate! They know our human weaknesses and they strive to capitalize on them in every way possible. They especially know how prideful we are (we know what’s best for us after all!)and how we can rationalize anything to make it seem like we are doing the right thing- when in fact it is the exact opposite of the right thing as laid out for us in scripture.
    Studying the saints also helped me a lot with this issue. Demons physically fought with many of our greatest saints: St. John Vianney (patron saint of priests) fought with demons on a nightly basis. If every priest read this biography on St. Vianney (“The Cure D’Ars: St. Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney”, by Abbe Francois Trochu), and tried to follow his example, the Church would not be able to handle all of the young men who would be knocking on the doors of the seminaries. I recommend that book in particular because of the one endorsement on the back cover- none other than Pope John Paul II!

    Julie

    ReplyDelete
  20. I say GOOD riddance and don’t let the door hit you on the way out, I will say Tony, you don't deserve Father!

    Liberal (modernist) “catholics” have been exposed as essentially parasitical — but thanks be to God, the Church’s immune system is getting stronger year by year.

    But thanks to the power of the Holy Spirit they are being replaced by younger men and women who are attracted to the church because of the very timelessness of its teachings.

    Veronica

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Veronica,

      Your charity and compassion is so Christ-like

      Bishop Pat

      Delete
    2. Veronica, My mother would turn in her grave at the kindness of your words if she were still alive. Sean

      Delete
  21. We've already had a practice run, it was called 'vatican II' & the apostates 'novus ordo', communion in the hand etc. !

    G

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. G,

      The real cancers in our Church are emanating from the conservative and reactionaries like the Legionaries of Christ.

      Have you never heard about Father Marciel ?

      Most of the child abuse that we have discovered in the past 20 years happened during your Tridentine latin Mass era.

      Bishop Pat

      Delete
  22. My 'Catholic innocence" was shattered the day a bishop - one who was the ordinary of his diocese - came to consult with me for counseling, having been referred to me by a priest. He was depressed and after some time with me, there was little mystery why. He informed me that he was having a sexual relationship with one of his priests. I was speechless. I would have to explain to this man that the fatctthat he was depressed showed that his conscience was still somewhat intact - even if seriously disordered. There must be ways for us to cleanse the Church of its evil because these kinds of things cannot go on if the Gospel is going to be proclaimed as it should.

    Christina Archer

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    Replies
    1. Christina,

      Why were you - as a professional counsellor speechless?

      Have you led a sheltered life away from reality?

      Putting on a mitre or a vestment does not take away human nature, human vulnerability and sinfulness.

      I'd prefer to deal with a bishop who had "fallen" rather than one who had not and was full of pride and arrogance as a result.

      Thank God your bishop had not abused a child.

      Bishop Pat

      Delete
    2. Dear Christina Archer you have more balls than many of the contributors, some clergy who refuse to put their names to what they say. This is most positive.

      My definition of an Irish Conservative Roman Catholic Man is someone who washes their hands before they piss in case touching their penis could constitute an occasion of sin. Washing one's hands after the act is basic personal hygiene.

      Delete
  23. We should ask ourselves why God permits such wrongdoing by bishops and priests.

    St John Chrysostom, speaking of Peter's denial, gives us an answer. “The fall of St. Peter happened, not through any coldness towards Our Lord, but because grace failed him; and he fell, not so much through his own negligence as through the withdrawal of God, as a lesson to the whole Church, that without God we can do nothing."

    St Augustine, too, says, "Our Lord points out to us, in the person of St. Peter, a righteous man, warning us by his fall to avoid presumption.” And also, "that God, in order to show us that without grace we can do nothing, left St. Peter without grace."

    That is why St Paul asks, “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? (1 Cor 4:7)

    Teej

    ReplyDelete
  24. This whole thing is a call to massive prayer and penance on the part of all the faithful. Would it fall on deaf ears, after the endless stream of horrible revelations, if all the faithful were commanded to perform some kind of stipulated visible penance as an act of reparation and promised amendment -- for an enumerated list of sexual crimes and sins ranging from artificial birth control to pederasty or whatever you call it?

    MAGGIE

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Who would COMMAND the faithful to do penance?

      The child abusers?

      The bishops and popes who covered it up?

      Bishop Pat

      Delete
  25. As a lay and open minded Catholic I ask Veronica, which priest or bishop is she in secret relationship with. Prats like you support evil, why oh why oh why???

    Perhaps because your knee deep. Can you not hear all the voices of innocence calling for your help??

    M

    ReplyDelete
  26. An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.
    Martin Luther King, Jr.


    Well done Fr Tony

    ReplyDelete
  27. If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.
    Desmond Tutu


    Well done Bishop for your Christian and loving offer to Fr Flanery. I am sure Lisbreen has a room ready in its new multi-million pound refurb!!!

    Somerton Rd Resident

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. At Lisbreen he will be living in an en suite with furnishings from Ballinderry Antiques.

      Delete
  28. The catholic church can easily become a knife of Double edge, perhaps this Pope is using his last chance to walk across the gates of Heaven. since the year 2000, some Children s are working and helping Humans to materialize Jesus Words, so we will not know what is going on, "Children s will own the World" Imperfect Humans don't exist, that is a man made sentences. to make believed that evil it's allow to touch us. - and so we follow

    Francisco

    ReplyDelete
  29. When I was in Junior and Senior high school a friend of mine called me false-face although I'm not THAT ugly, so I wondered why. Go to http://prop1.org/protest/elijah/nature.htm and look at the left after photo 2004 and lower right 1974 before to see the difference of then and now that I'm "living what I believe in."

    Prophet Isaiah, in 28:9, tells us we will be taught "knowledge" and "doctrine" only after we are *weaned from the milk {teachings of organize religion}, and drawn from the breasts {teachers of it}.* Only after we learn to follow our beliefs, called heart, shall we have courage enough to be who we are. After seeing Jesus say "be wise as a serpent" we should come to realize the serpent in the garden was a wise man and not Satan as organized religions teach.

    Elijah

    ReplyDelete
  30. Of course Fr. Flannery is free to follow his conscience! All the way out of the Catholic Church and into a community of believers in Larne.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Father Tony is free to follow his conscience whereever it leads him.

      If that does not lead him towards Larne - then we in Larne will respect his conscience and wish him well.

      Bishop Pat

      Delete
    2. The only danger Father Flannery is in is the danger of NOT FOLLOWING HIS CONSCIENCE !

      Delete
  31. It's the Keep it Simple man again. Well what a selection we have tonight. The God I have come to know and love must be rolling around the floor, curling up with laughter and the selection of personalities being dragged into the equation this evening. We have the Holy Spirit, St Augustine (always a good bet if you want to impress) St John Chrysostom gets a mention (bit high brow) and in the green corner St John Vianny. And just to add a bit of celebrity status by special mention we have all the way from Dundela Belfast's very own C S Lewis. Hopefully the Lion or the witch escape from the wardrobe and eat the arse of that good holy priest from D&C. He needs a d&c. Prat !! Anyway it's like a billing for a celestial version of Sunday Night at the London Palladium. All we need now in place of Danny la Rue to top the show suitably attired in his cardinals gear is Raymond Cardinal Burke. My wee ma used to say that if want to give God a good laugh you should tell him your plans for next week. I say if you want to have him in stitches show him tonights selection. For God sake guys and for your own sake and sanity Keep It Simple

    ReplyDelete
  32. As an open minded Anglican can I say that I found the attitude of that PP D&C so sad. he probably doesn't realise that it is his like that's causing so many to abandon that faith. I will pray for that sick and sad man

    ReplyDelete
  33. is there something special about the redemptorists fathers. My aunt used to talk about a girl who worked with her many years ago. The girl run off with a priest. "Not just any old priest" said auntie "He was a redemptorist you know!!"
    My aunt said he was in the parish on a mission. Obviously !

    ReplyDelete
  34. Being caught in a lifelong shackel like he is can make one bitter & cruel. I wonder If I stayed in the Diocese of Elphin would I be like PP? I can never know but I would hope definately not. Life is not all roses but it is not all bad either. I do know that getting out when I did helped me achieve some measure of sanity. Sad to say I had to escape my denomination to be safe.......sad..but from the tomb comes new life....Sean

    ReplyDelete
  35. I have paused and reflected on a lot of what the keep it simple person has been saying. Are we as priests blinded by our own upbringing, training and eventual seminary infused arrogance? I have been having many doubts recently about The Real Presence,
    Transubstantiation etc. Armagh PP

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Brother I went through a phase like that & the fact that the 3 wise men were metaphors knocked me for 6. I've got over that now thankfully. In my humble opinion God is not a scientist. God is the fullness of being. God "IS" We "ARE" privilaged to share life with God as creatures who can know & reflect and choose & sin & repent..... This for me is the great sacrament and mystery. The ancient philosophers tried to own the mystery of Eucharist with words like transubstanciation & consubstantiation. In naming the mystery they belitled that same mystery. Eucharist is all of these things and more. Yes I would have a sanctuary light near the tabernaccle. Yes I would treat the reserved host with the highest of respect & focal point for prayer. If I limit myself to definitions I blow out the candle & miss the point. As an old Irish Jesuit-Frank O Farrell- who taught me in Rome said Life "is what it is according to TO BE" Life is good. Sean

      Delete
  36. Should Catholic priests and nuns who are “good people” leave the church?

    Steve

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    Replies
    1. Not sure I understand what you mean? are "good" people wasted because they live under the umberella of oppression a bit like the Red Cross in a middle eastern country. If one leaves, like the people in the exodus there needs to be a defined destination. Also people who leave need to there is a destination (such as Larne?) where they will be welcomed nourished & sustained. Sean

      Delete
  37. Nobody ever explained to me in 16 years of Catholic education how I could SURELY go to Heaven when I die. It seemed as if I had to be good and receive the Sacraments, and that perhaps after spending some time in Purgatory, I would eventually get into Heaven. Surely I was not bad enough to deserve to go to hell. However, once the gospel of Jesus Christ was explained to me, I accepted that Jesus’ death on the cross was sufficient for me to enter into Heaven. Also I had been taught that the Catholic Church was the final authority on spiritual matters. But I discovered that the Scriptures and the Catholic Church had some different teachings, I had to evaluate whether or not the Bible ALONE was authoritative as God's revealed Word to humankind, as opposed to the conflicting teachings of uninspired and fallible men. Jesus died so that we could have eternal life through FAITH, not works.

    I think I am Protestant now and I am scared of that label in Belfast.

    Jim (20)

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    1. Jim, For me protestant & catholic are states of mind. In my Ireland-growing up-they meant much more, it was politics, souptakers, fenians pillaging brits etc. (souptakers are those who defected from the holy roman church for status or monitory gain). My Christian Faith, for me goes beyond politics, first names or which version of the Our Father you say. It is about people who believe in God and follow the risen Jesus. I believe many in the Church of England parish my wife & I attend would find the Irish understanding of protestant & catholic totaly beyond their grasp. I too was brought up on the if yr good y'll go to heaven-sure thing. Over the years my understanding of heaven has altered greatly. Heaven for me is not a place in the future but a realisation that God has "pitched his tent" near me now in this life. I can call/pray & I know he will hear. In the future my way of being will change. I will pass through death into another way of being-think of the catterpillar becoming a butterfly-same, yet different. God will be there too. The heaven or hell element is how I react in my mind to the life before me. People create heaven & hell, God creates life that will last forever. I think you need to speak to somebody about how you feel and how it will impact on your profession of faith in public. N Ireland is a unique place to be a Christian. Perhaps Pat or one of his priests would be a good starting point if you want to explore your journey further in a safe environment. Hope this helps. Sean

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  38. I rededicated myself to the Catholic Church at the age of 24 for many reasons, first and foremost being God's grace. In my early adulthood, I began to recognize that I was a follower of Christ, but on my own terms. My prayer life was not what it should have been and I was attached to some of my sins. When I truly began, through prayer and study, to see the Presence of the Divine Lover in the Catholic Church, and fall in love with the Mass, Christ took greater hold of me. I learned to truly dedicate myself to Christ. Although I know that all Christians are brothers in Christ, I saw and still see in the Church the true Bride of Christ, established by Him through the Apostles, faithful to her Spouse. It's true that the devil has found his way into the lifestyles of many Christians, and Catholics (even our hierarchy) can be included in that, but I know our Lord is faithful to His Church and loves her, so in imitation of Him, I love her, and am eternally grateful for her bringing me into more intimate union with the One I truly love, Jesus.
    John Jimenez, USA, joined at 24.

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    1. Sounds good but please remember there is no mathmitacal formula that can quantify a person's relationship with another person or God himself. Sean

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  39. I was raised in a devout Catholic family, served as an altar boy and went to church every weekend. At 33 years, I realized that if I died, I would have ended up in hell. Here is what happened. I was hired as a pilot for a major US air carrier. On the first day of class, we were given an aircraft flight manual. The Instructor said, "Gentleman, welcome to ________ Airlines. As long as you are employed as a pilot with our company, you will be required to know this manual and live by the information contained within it." Several years later God used this "seed" to challenge my own faith. If I could trust the flight manual for my career, why did I not trust the Bible for my faith? As a Catholic I never studied the Bible. Therefore, I began studying my Bible with the same intensity as my flight manual. On October 03, 1993, while flying with another Christian over the skies of El Paso, Texas, I received Jesus Christ into my life. The person who took off from Las Vegas, was not the same person who landed in Houston. I have never been the same.
    Rick, USA, left at 33.

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    1. You studied the the manual to know your aircraft. You studied the Bible to know your faith. Makes sense! However Christianity is not a machine. Expect the unexpected. You will never be bored again. Safe Travelling.Sean

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