After months of prolonged crisis, the Very Rev Andrew Furlong has eased the pain of his parishioners, his bishop and his church by resigning as Dean of Clonmacnoise and as Rector of Trim and Athboy. His resignation avoids the drama of a courtroom battle over his beliefs and whether they amount to heresy. Shortly before Christmas, he was suspended by the Bishop of Meath and Kildare, who hoped he was providing the dean with time to ponder and to reflect. Instead, Dean Furlong used that time as an opportunity to extend the controversy, setting up a new website, emailing a wide audience of friends, colleagues and journalists, offering interviews and seeking publication in journals and magazines.
These were hardly the responses of a priest accepting his bishop's invitation to think again. And so, it was unlikely the Court of the General Synod could impose a lesser sentence of admonition or suspension. Dean Furlong was facing removal from office, and even the loss of his right to practise as a priest. His resignation saves him greater embarrassment, and saves the Church of Ireland from the possibility of an unseemly debate at next week's General Synod.
No-one can doubt the dean's pastoral and professional skills. Everyone who speaks about him praises his care of his parishioners, and undoubtedly he will have no difficulty in finding fruitful opportunities in the caring professions. His views are exciting and challenging; when views like his are held by lay members of any denomination, they challenge clergy and theologians alike to find fresh and stimulating ways of ensuring the teachings and traditions of the church are conveyed with relevance and challenge to a new generation. But his beliefs are not acceptable among the clergy, who are both the agents and the guarantors of those same traditions and teachings.
Dean Furlong's resignation allows his parish and parishioners to have a fresh start after weeks of public controversy. He has saved himself and the Church of Ireland from an unedifying spectacle. And he has cleared the ground so the Bishop of Meath and Kildare can be considered as a serious candidate to become the next Archbishop of Dublin.