Informing Rome is 'repellent', says priest

The Redemptorist priest and commentator Father Gerard Moloney has described as "repellent" and "distasteful" a practice whereby Rome is informed "anonymously of any supposed deviations from the 'party line' by a local bishop or priest."

People who made such reports saw themselves "as the defenders of orthodoxy and decorum" he said, and reported "everything - even the contents of newsletters in obscure parishes read by a few dozen."

Writing in Reality magazine, Father Moloney explained why this practice is repellent. "First is the fact that the accusers are anonymous; the accused does not know who his accuser is.

"Second is the fact that Rome is willing to allow - and act on - anonymous accusations. Third is the fact that the accused can be convicted without knowing where the accusation came from and without even having the chance to defend the charge."

Last July Ireland's Catholic bishops described as "in error" a book Does Morality Change? written by a Marist priest, Father Seán Fagan, and published seven years ago.