Wednesday 15 September 2010

Fr Fenlon Exiled for Five Years

Catholic & Loving It! Blog - James Preece - 13.9.2010
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/

I'm sure this is old news to most of you but some of us really have been living a field for the last two weeks and are just catching up.



According to the Catholic Herald, Fr Dermont Fenlon the oldest of the Birmingham Three has been "forcibly exclaustrated" for at least five years because, well, there is no "because"...

Under the Code of Canon Law, a priest cannot be exclaustrated for more than three years unless there is a “grave reason”. A prolonged period must also have either the direct approval of either the Holy See or the local bishop, who, in the case of Fr Fenlon, is Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham.


Yet no Church figure has publicly given any reason why Fr Fenlon has been subject to such severe canonical penalties in the first place.

Read John Smeaton's excellent coverage of this including his list of questions for the Newman Cause spokesman Jack "the Church is not against condoms" Valero.