CATHOLIC bishops have snubbed an offer to meet with a group of priests and lay people who want to reform the church.
Around
400 people attended an assembly in Galway at the weekend which was
organised by the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP).
Organisers
had extended an invitation to around half a dozen bishops in the west
of Ireland to attend the gathering, however none showed up.
Fr
Tony Flannery, one of the founders of the ACP and the chair of the
assembly, said the laity and priests want to be able to meet bishops to
discuss the future of the church in Ireland.
"There was a real recognition that the church is in deep trouble and that is not being faced up to. There
is a real sense of urgency about this matter. The window of opportunity
to act is still there, but that won't last for much longer. Local
churches have died out in the past and it is important that we now work
together to ensure that the Irish Catholic Church not only survives but
flourishes," he added.
Fr Flannery, a Redemptorist priest based
at Esker, in Co Galway, incurred the wrath of the church hierarchy when
he publicly backed criticism of the Vatican by Taoiseach Enda Kenny.
Earlier
this year he was ordered to end his 14-year term as columnist with the
Redemptorist 'Reality' magazine by the Vatican's Congregation for the
Doctrine of Faith because of his liberal views.
Equals
Fr Flannery declined to comment on his ongoing dealings with the Vatican in the wake of his silencing.
Some
of those who contributed to the conference said they want to feel like
they belong to and are involved in their church and want to be "regarded
as equals" as envisioned by the Second Vatican Council.