Papal visit a chance to tackle ‘silencing’ of priests

The confirmation of a visit to Ireland by Pope Francis in August 2018 has been welcomed as an opportunity to address the situation of five Irish priests who have been disciplined by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

The Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) has particularly welcomed the visit “as an opportunity to engage with the issue of the ‘silencing’ of five of our priest-members, and the injustice thereby perpetrated against priests who have contributed so much to the life and work of the Church in Ireland”.

In a statement, the association said “it would help to right a terrible wrong if, before the Pope’s visit, this issue could be dealt with appropriately. Otherwise it could prove a distraction in the preparations for the visit and overshadow the visit itself.”

More generally, the statement said the ACP was “encouraged that Francis, who has emphasised so often the need for reform in our Church in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, will help to bring direction and energy to our listless and rudderless Church”, on his visit to Ireland.

“It is heartening for our association that, six years after our foundation in a different papal dispensation, the concerns and emphases of Francis for a Church of the future echo so clearly our own platform,” it said.

“The ACP shares the Pope’s focus on the need to be open to the signs of the times, to converse with the culture of the day, to spurn clericalism and the elitism it engenders, to be inclusive and transparent in our dealings and to invite the excluded and the marginalised into the heart of our Church.”