2 Kings 5:1ff. Naaman, commander of the Syrian army, takes the prophet’s advice and is cured of his leprosy.

Luke 4:24ff. The townspeople of Nazareth turn against Jesus, a classic proof of the dictum that “no prophet is accepted in …

As a result of our meeting with the Bishop's Commission, and their response to that meeting, which we regarded as very inadequate, we have decided to issue the following statement to the media.

It also contains notice of a general meeting to discuss this subject on June 2nd in Portlaoise.

Dear Friends,
I am always afraid we in the church will get into the doldrums again.At my advanced age I believe being careful has inhibited the church from taking the sacred risks it should be able to afford.
So I have been trying to define my own beliefs and hopes and expectations. The following is not meant for either publication or for anything else except to put it on record somewhere that I personally and as a priest believe Catholics could usefully talk about such matters in a radical way. Change is going to come – we should be making it not waiting for it. People said, Where there is death there’s hope, but  I cannot accept that - if you know change is bound to come on Friday you make it happen on Thursday even if only to show  you have some say in it.
My disagreement with people in high church places was primarily about how people including priests are treated and about due process and about materialistic values in church. We have I believe not made much progress since those days when for such disagreement I know I lost all salary for a quarter of a century but believe I gained some self respect for the rest of my life.
If the Dutch Catholics could discuss  such weighty matters in the sixties, we can discuss them any time.
 
Beannacht De oraibh agus ar an obair.
 
Des Wilson
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