Tony Flannery, Irish Priest Published New Book-" From the Outside: Rethinking Church Doctrine" , Irish Independent

Fr. Tony Flannery,  at Ahane, near Newport, Tipperary, Ireland,
Photo- Frank McGrath

My response: I am looking forward to reading "From the Outside- Rethinking Church Doctrine." I agree with Tony that the Roman Catholic Church's outdated, official medieval theology has to change. We need contemporary theologies that offer a strong foundation for our sacred story of the meaning of the Christ Presence and faith for humans in the 21st century that embraces a greater consciousness of unity, love, inclusivity and justice among us and around us in the evolutionary process of growth and transformation. Bridget Mary Meehan ARCWP

 https://www.independent.ie/life/tony-flannery-ive-no-doubt-that-the-vatican-has-nothing-to-do-with-god-39741605.html

Article written by Ellen Coyne in Irish Independent

"The banned priest says that the more he has thought about it, the more convinced he is that the church’s attitudes to and exclusion of women has been a “biggest blight” on the institution since the beginning..."

"The 72-year-old has taken advantage of his position in the pews, rather than at the altar, to write a new book called From the Outside: Rethinking Church Doctrine. It calls for sweeping reform of the Catholic Church, including its attitudes to women and sexuality.

“The church is so locked into old doctrines and old ideas, even though the world has completely moved on and left all of that behind,” he says.

He has little faith in those who are at the top of the church at the moment, and says the Vatican is full of “pathetic” careerism. The Irish Catholic bishops don’t inspire him either, and he notes that Archbishop Diarmuid Martin was the only senior Irish cleric to publicly welcome Pope Francis’s recent comments condoning civil partnerships for same-sex couples."

‘From the Outside: Rethinking Church Doctrine’ by Tony Flannery, published by Red Stripe Press, is out now