• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Marist
    • A Certain Way
    • Bearing Mary’s name
    • Doing Mary’s work
    • Marist Founder: J C Colin
    • Marist Places
    • Spirituality
    • Marist Family
  • Marist New Zealand
    • New Zealand Marist news
      • Get Marist News
    • Administration
      • Finance and administration
      • Marist Archives
      • NZ Marist History
      • NZ Marist Links
      • Privacy Policy
      • Renewal
    • Education and Youth
      • Gap Year
      • Logos
      • Marist Colleges’ Senate
      • Network of Marist Schools
      • School chaplaincy
      • Youth House
    • “Foreign Lands”
      • Social Outreach
        • Abandoned and neglected
        • L’arche
        • Ministry to Seafarers
        • Not-for-profit facilitation
        • Police Chaplaincy
        • Wellintown
      • CathNews
      • Marist Internet Project
      • Music Ministry
      • RPD Unit
    • Marist Spirituality
      • In Every Way
      • Marist Messenger
      • Pa Maria
      • Spiritual Direction
    • Marist Laity
      • Marian Mothers
      • Marist Third Order
      • Mother of Good Hope
    • Missionary parishes
      • Homily Helps
      • John Rea: Healing ministry
    • Tangata Whenua
  • Marist World
    • International Marist news
    • Marist Americas
    • Marist Asia Pacific
      • Asia
      • Australia
      • New Zealand
      • Oceania
    • Mission Districts
      • Asia
        • Ranong
      • Brazil
    • Marist Europe
  • Marist Vocation
    • Who are the Marists
    • What Marists do
    • Life as a Marist
    • Train as a Marist
      • Good Shepherd College
      • Marist Seminary
      • Marist Novitiate
      • Pastoral Placement
    • Want to know more?
  • Contact us
    • Fr John Rea
    • Marist Archives
    • Marist Laity
    • Safeguarding minors
    • Society of Mary New Zealand
    • Vocations Enquiry

Society of Mary

Marist Fathers New Zealand: Life and spirit

  • mike-mahoney-wataraoa
  • christie baptism
  • cerdon
  • arthurtoothillmarae
  • laneyliere
  • reflection
  • refugeekids
  • jeffdranesmoa
  • kk-at-wairoa
  • everyway

Tributes paid to Irish Marist priest

Sean Fagan RIP
Fr Sean Fagan SM

Tributes for Fr Sean Fagan came last week after news of the Marist priest’s death.

Fr Fagan died in St Vincent’s Hospital after a long illness.

Former President of Ireland, Mary McAleese says she is “saddened by the death of that great questioning mind that was Fr Sean Fagan’s”.

“A brilliant theologian and thinker who brought great distinction to Ireland, his long and illustrious priestly career was blighted in latter years by being silenced by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,” Mrs McAleese said.

“His heart and spirit were broken but his fidelity to the Church and quiet acceptance of such an unjust fate won him even more admirers,” she said.

Through his writing, he helped me greatly to free myself from the inherited obsession with sin, and the fear of hell.

Assn Catholic Priests

In April, 2014, Pope Francis had all sanctions against the very ill Fr Fagan lifted.

It later emerged that in December 2013, Mrs McAleese had written directly to Pope Francis asking that he personally intervene in the case.

Mrs McAleese said the lifting of sanctions against Fr Fagan came too little, too late.

The Association of Catholic Priests also paid tribute to Fr Fagan.

In an editorial, the writer said he owed Sean a “great debt of gratitude”.

“…he, through his writing, helped me greatly to free myself from the inherited obsession with sin, and the fear of hell.

“I suspect that I am not the only one of my generation that is indebted to Sean for that.”

The writer said that from a personal standpoint Fr Fagan was one of the most significant theologians of our time.

“At least he lived to see Francis in the Vatican”, he wrote.

“I hope he found assurance in the way Francis presents God to us as a loving parent, full of mercy and forgiveness. That was how Sean portrayed God.”

Sources

  • CathNews
  • Association of Catholic Priests
  • Image: Irish Times

Related posts:

  1. Pope believed to intervene in removing further sanctions on Marist priest The Irish Times reports the Vatican has removed its sanctions of silence it imposed on Irish Marist priest, Sean Fagan. The Superior...
  2. Chris Skinner concludes Jubilee Year of Mercy tour Fr Chris Skinner recently concluded 10 day tour of the Dunedin diocese offering a series of music workshops in parishes and schools....
  3. Marist Mission Thailand brings hope to migrant workers ucanews.com, Asia’s most trusted and independent Catholic News source, relaunched this week and selected the Marist Mission in Ranong, Thailand...

July 22, 2016 Filed Under: Front page story, International Tagged With: compassion, Ireland, Mary McAleese, Mercy, Pope Francis, Sean Fagan

Primary Sidebar

Recently

  • Mike and Yvonne Moore thanked for involvement at St Bede’s College
  • Tim Duckworth assumes office of NZ Provincial
  • €20k needed to reopen Marist Camino pilgrim hostel
  • Abuse and Cover-Up; Gerald Arbuckle’s challenging new book
  • Marist Ranong secondary school reopens
  • LOGOS celebrates 20 years

Keep chatting



Search sm.org.nz

We’re about

Administration Asia Australia Chris Skinner City centre church Earthquake Education Foreign Lands Formation Gerald Arbuckle International International Mission Looking outwards Maori MAP Marist Media Mission Missionary Parishes New Evangelisation Oceania Ranong Rome Seminary Spirituality St Mary of the Angels Superior General The Future Vocations Youth

Copyright © 2023 · Society of Mary New Zealand ·