Fr Tony Flannery has expressed his surprise and shock at an interview given by the Vatican cardinal who led the investigation that led to his suspension from the priesthood.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie following the publication of an article in the Irish Catholic, liberal Redemptorist priest said Cardinal William Levada’s decision to speak on the issue was “inappropriate”.
“It was quite amazing. You’d wish that people don’t do things like that,” he said. “I don’t know why he would have a go at an insignificant Irish priest. I would have thought it was a foolish thing to do.”
In the exclusive interview with the Irish newspaper, Cardinal Levada, who is now retired and living in the US, said that Fr Flannery was investigated because he “undermined” Catholic teaching about the priesthood and the Eucharist.
It had been understood that the probe centred on his views on priests marrying. Continue reading