Latest news on Tony Flannery’s talks

After a very pleasant and enjoyable series of talks in various parts of the country, my ‘caravan’ is now coming to the capital.
I am talking in the Stillorgan Park Hotel on Wednesday next, April 2nd, at 8.OOpm
So far the response has been very good.  I speak for about forty five minutes.  First of all I acknowledge that the Church is in difficulty at present, and that seems to be fairly universally accepted. Then I do a quick run through Church history, tracking the origins and development of the problems in the Church, issues like excessively centralisation, clericalism, compulsory celibacy, the marginalisation of women, the use and abuse of power, and other things.
I speak about the Second Vatican Council, and what it attempted to achieve, but why the more important aspects of its reform failed to materialise.
I finish my talk with a hand-out containing extracts from Chapter One of Evangelii Gaudium, showing how the document of Pope Francis is so much in line with the teachings of the Vatican Council, and how radical some of what he is saying really is. So I end on a very hopeful note for the future of the Church, while being aware of the real and powerful obstacles that are in the way.
Then there is about another forty five minutes of open discussion, which has been very lively every place I’ve been.
I am looking forward to next Wednesday evening in the Stillorgan Park Hotel.
For a full schedule of my talks go to www.tonyflannery.com
Tony Flannery