New Members of the Association

We are delighted to report a big increase in new members of the ACP in recent times.  This is partly due to the initiative of the Dublin unit, which is getting a great response.
We are sorry that, with our lack of any professionsal secretarial staff, it is impossible to acknowledge each new member individually.  So I hope that people will understand, and take this as the grateful thanks of the Leadership for all the priests who are signing up.  And we encourage you to keep an eye on the website, where are news and developments are usually written up.
Our current membership is about 780.

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Guilty until proven Innocent 

ACP News, Articles, Editor's Choice
7 Comments

Sarah Mac Donald writing in this week’s Tablet describes the awful ordeal of Fr Tim Hazelwood who had an anonymous false allegation made against him and who then was left to prove his own innocence while feeling totally abandoned by official church and fobbed off by the National Safeguarding Board.
“I was left feeling very alone”, he says. “I had to fight my accuser but I also had to fight the Church, because it didn’t help in any way.”
This article raises very disturbing questions for church authorities in how they deal with anonymous allegations, questions that should prevent them from sleeping easily until they have been fully resolved.
Robert Dore, solicitor, describes the Church’s protocols on anonymous allegations as “wrong” and “wholly inappropriate”.

6 Comments

  1. This is really great news and must reflect the ever-increasing importance with which the Association of Catholic Priests is regarded. It is a pity more ACP members do not contribute with their wisdom and experience to the discourse on this site. We have not heard any mention for some time of the new Association of Catholic Priests of America the formation of which was inspired by our ACP. I wonder how is that progressing. Nor has there been much news from Austria of the Austrian Priests Initiative.

    Reply
  2. Ned Quinn says:

    Just read the report from the Bishops’ Spring Conference. No mention of their meeting with the ACP leadership. Maybe it’s under “any other business”!

    Reply

  3. Father Paddy Ferry & all:
    We of the AUSCP continue to follow in the ACP’s footsteps, with two regional meetings in the past several weeks. Below you can read Fr. Norm reporting on the one in Columbus, OH (now posted separately on Home Page). We now have around 450 members (just over 1% of all USA priests) and are busy planning our Inaugural Assembly at St Leo’s University, near Tampa, Florida June 11 to the 14th. We do hope the ACP will send an observer. We’ll provide hospitality as you all did for me during your first annual assembly.
    Two of our members, Frank Eckart (Toledo) and Alan Jurkus (Milwaukee) will be attending the Australians up-coming assembly as observers and several of our members would accept an invitation to be with you at your Second Annual General Meeting.
    Finally, we have our new website up, but with a blog only accessible to members at: http://www.uscatholicpriests.org. I favor a public blog such as yours but there’s much hesitation for U.S. priests to be seen and heard in public.
    Fr. Bernard Survil, Diocese of Greensburg

    Reply

  4. Bernard, thank you so much for that response and information. I, and I am sure many others, have been wondering how your new Association of Catholic Priests in the US has been developing. I visit the NCP site everyday and I have never seen any mention of your new association which surprises me. So, it is really great to hear from you. The Spirit is definitely moving. Also, Berenard, I am actually not a Father except, of course, to my three lovely children.

    Reply

  5. The increase in membership in the Dublin area may be partly “due to the initiative of the Dublin unit” but I suspect it is mainly due to the antics of the Archbishop!

    Reply
  6. Steve Edward says:

    If The Apocalypse can be relied upon, your membership should reach about one third of those eligible!

    Reply

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