Statement from Association of Catholic Priests,
Sunday 17 Nov 2019:
The Leadership of the ACP express their support for Oliver O’Reilly PP and the position he has adopted in relation to the recent attack on Mr Kevin Lunney.
We admire his courage in speaking the truth in a very difficult situation.
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The ACP has written to the Irish bishops and calls for a National Assembly to discuss ‘The Reform and Renewal of the Catholic Church in Ireland’.
It also calls for a ‘constructive’ engagement with the bishops that would also be realistic, ongoing, coherent in terms of time-scale and commitment, and above all that it would engage with key critical issues.
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Oliver O Reilly P.P. should be fully supported by the people of God in his stance for justice. Like Archbishop Romero
we need courageous voices who will not be silenced.
Delighted to hear on RTE this evening that the ACP has come out in support of Fr O Reilly. He is a brave man doing his job and it was great that he was so forthright after the awful attack on Kevin Lunney,which was so evil, depraved and sadistic.For too long this thuggery has been continuing and one must ask why police on both sides of the border did not act sooner.This is an area which needs jobs badly and nothing must be done to put them at risk.
As the Independent says, many of the Cardinals would not be household names to the average person.The fact that Fr O Reilly has had to take security measures around his house after his homily says a lot. But what was heartening this evening was that in the vox pop of parishioners coming out of Mass were in support of the priest.As long as we have priests of the calibre of FR O’Reilly and the ACP to support him,the Church,despite the many difficulties it faces has still so much to offer and we thank God for that.
As far as I am aware Fr O’Reilly has said nothing that could justly be interpreted as imputing wrong to any known individual. If a priest is to be criticised and even threatened for asking all instigators of cruelty to desist what future could there be for the Kingdom of God, and what justification for the existence of any church?
I applaud Fr O’Reilly for having the courage to stand up in public and condemn those responsible for the brutal attack on Kevin Lunney. As Sean said @3, Fr O’Rilly did not name any particiluar individual as been responsible for the attacks. He simply condemned them as the criminals that they are. We are all aware of the phrase ‘All it takes for evil to thrive is for geed men to do nothing’. Now is not a time for turing a blind eye.
Keep up the good fight Fr O’Reilly. It is entirely appropriate that the ACP have put their full support behind their colleague.
We applaud Fr Oliver O’Reilly and the ACP for supporting him. We are all the stronger thanks to Fr Oliver O’Reilly’s stand for justice and peace.
Colm Holmes
We Are Church ireland
Letters to the Editor:,
Fr O’Reilly should be lauded for his stance over QIH attack
The Association of Catholic Priests’ support for Fr Oliver O’Reilly is most welcome. Since he spoke out against the savage beating inflicted on Quinn Industrial Holdings executive Kevin Lunney he has been subject to personal threats from the criminals involved.
Now it has emerged that he has been reported to the Vatican and the Papal Nuncio to Ireland by Seán Quinn, who claims that Fr O’Reilly misused his priesthood and liturgy by ‘falsely accusing him of complicity in the attack’.
The truth is that Fr O’Reilly did not implicate Mr Quinn in any way in the attack on Mr Lunney.
Fr O’Reilly exercised outstanding courage in his homily by breaking the Mafia-style imposed silence on the community by confronting and exposing the intimidation and bullying that has been forcing people into staying quiet.
As a Catholic, I am proud of Fr O’Reilly’s prophetic voice in speaking out against this continuing festering injustice.
He should be supported not just by the Vatican but by all Irish bishops.
Brendan Butler