Kerry-based priest stands by comments made condemning "promiscuity" and the LGBTQ+ community

A retired priest filling in for the regular parish priest in Kerry sparked backlash over comments he made during a homily on Sunday, now saying he will stand by these comments.

The Bishop of Kerry apologised for the comments made by Fr Seán Sheehy earlier this week, saying that that the views expressed were not representative of Christianity - but the retired priest has now accused the Bishop of “muzzling the truth.”

Fr Sheehy told parishioners at St Mary’s Church in Listowel that sex between two men or two women is sinful and that safe sex schemes, providing free condoms, by the HSE promote promiscuity.

The priest further added that Irish legislation took a “lunatic approach” to “transgenderism."

A number of people left the Sunday morning mass, some in tears, while a video taken of the mass sparked backlash on Facebook and Twitter.

One person that had attended the mass told The Journal that the sermon was “like stepping back to 1980s Ireland.”

Dr Ray Browne, the Bishop of Kerry, issued a statement yesterday, apologising for the homily and acknowledging “the deep upset and hurt” Fr Sheehy caused.

The statement reads: “I apologise to all who were offended. The views expressed do not represent the Christian position. The homily at a regular weekend parish Mass is not appropriate for such issues to be spoken of in such terms.

“The Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is a Gospel of love and ever proclaims the dignity of every human person. It calls on us all to ever have total respect for one another.”

Speaking to Radio Kerry yesterday, Fr Sheehy, the cause of all this backlash, stood by his comments.

According to the retired priest, Bishop Browne told him that he was going “to take me off all masses”, but said that he “could care less, really."

“I know myself that what I said cannot be disproven by any honest-to-God Catholic, Christian or Catholic teaching, and that’s the bottom line,” Sheehy said.

He accused the bishop of “sacrificing the truth, or muzzling the truth in order to appease people.”

He also told the radio station that at a mass he gave after the Sunday morning, he reiterated that he was stating what was in the Gospel, and received “a standing ovation."

“When I completed the holy sacrifice of the mass, the people applauded, a standing ovation. What about them?” he said.

“What about the people who came into the sacristy and said: ‘It’s high time we actually heard the truth.’ What about those people? Are they fundamentalists too?”

Fr Sheehy returned to Kerry from Baton Rouge in Louisiana, America in 2007. He has previously caused controversy by shaking hands with and providing a statement for convicted sex offender Danny Foley of Listowel, in Tralee Circuit Court back in 2009.

The video of Sunday's mass can be seen below.

This video from St Mary’s Church in Listowel is absolutely shocking…. pic.twitter.com/VYHu3Ktc3d

— Shane McAuliffe 🐷✈️ (@ShaneMcAuliffe1) November 1, 2022