Pat Buckley

“The Church is an absolute monarchy with the Pope as its head and the bishops as his branch managers.”

“Celibacy is a human law, not a divine law, and it should be optional.”

“I will not be silenced by men in frocks who have lost touch with reality.”

“If being a good priest means being obedient to a corrupt system, then I choose not to be a 'good priest' in their eyes.”

“The people on the ground, the laity, are far more Christian than the hierarchy.”

“I am a priest forever, but I am not a churchman.”

“I'm in the business of offering sacraments to people who want them, and the institutional church is in the business of denying them.”

“My ministry is about people, not about buildings or institutions.”

“My role is to be a voice for the voiceless, both inside and outside the church.”

“Hypocrisy is the greatest sin in the Church today.”

“Love should be the only law.”

“I've always believed in a loving and compassionate God, not a punishing, judgmental one.”

“The real scandal is not what I am doing, but what the institution has been doing for years.”

“The institution is sick, and it needs radical surgery.”