Comments on: Rebel Catholic priest shown the door

By: Noel Courtis

Noel Courtis — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Catholic Churches across Australia are nearly empty, so if you get a successful parish that does good deeds and helps the community you want to close it down because some crazy right-winger complained to some crazy righ-winged cardinals in Rome.
Is that the Christian way of doing things?

By: Bohemian

Bohemian — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Just imagine if every community decided to do the same thing. We would have community based religion.Maybe then everyone in the community could be invited along and participate in strengthening their communities..

By: David

David — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

The pope just cannot forget his idylic days in the Hitler youth, the power, the hard line, the obey at any cost attitude. As I said in an earlier contribution on this subject to the Parish Priest Father Kennedy and his congregation, go you good things. Pell and Rome may not want you, Australia does.

By: Kevin Charles Herbert

Kevin Charles Herbert — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Here come that's split in the Catholic Church that been ready to happen for 30 years. I wonder how the
Church's lawyers are viewing the likelihood of the physical occupation of the parish property.

A rich Liberal catholic should finance a High Court case where the reform parish contests, in the public interest, the Vatican's ownership of the church property.

The Australian Reform Catholic Church has a nice ring to it...I might even rejoin a church that allows women priests, priests to marry, abortion & gay marriage.

I also reckon that about 70% of Australia's Catholics would join such a Church.

By: dermot

dermot — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

some points:

this stoush was brought about by a group of uglies who are so called tradtional catholics. They are led from Sydney. What they are are the types who cling to whatever is established and say it is immutable truth (when it often is not). The St Mary's people were dudded as the so called tradtionals got to the pope first.

according to canon law there are certain words used for sacrements like baptism or Communion. They are standardised according to language. the guy at St Mary's refused to use them. Vary your liturgy but make the words right then the uglies have no case.

Also don't crap the boss off when he's under the hammer. That's not Canon Law that's basic survival.

this is for Kevin the Archdiocese of Brisbane owns the property not the Vatican.

third point liberal catholic church Kevin? there is one not many Catholics would consider belonging to it.

Finally I hate it when the uglies win. it's sickmaking.

By: Michael Harvey

Michael Harvey — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

And we are worried about the Taliban!

By: roger gestetner

roger gestetner — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

one of fr kennedy’s parishioners made the comparison on the abc news last night between the punishment of fr kennedy and the comfort, care and protection that Cardinal Pell provides to the countless priests who sodomise their choirboys or rape their female parishioners (while their victims are heavied by his bovver boys into remaining silent). It’s a comparison well made. I an unaware of any other organisation in Australia that has caused such destruction to innocent men, women and children, yet it is one that in its arrogance and conceit will remove a man truly committed to the comfort, care and protection of his fellow human beings.

By: Brad

Brad — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

While I do not agree with the policies decreed by Rome, which these people are rejecting, you cannot nevertheless expect to stay within the fold if you do so. Why would you WANT to stay in the Catholic church, if you think they are talking crap anyway? This priest should be celebrating, not asking for Benedict to reconsider?

By: tony carroll

tony carroll — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

There are a number of statements and assumptions in the article that should be challenged,and they also appear in letters to the editor in other publications and even in the epistles of the archbishop to St Mary’s. 1.The community of which I have been a member for twenty years lives out its vision of a Christian community without seeking publicity. Its services to the poor and marginalized people both here and beyond our shores go largely unnoticed except to those who receive and appreciate its loving care.That is how it should be.
2.The public media is its only avenue of defence when the right of reply is denied in the official Catholic publications.It may help to sell papers but does little to assist the on-going work of an inner city parish.
3. To lump every variation from the Vatican norm as a failure to” conform to procedures” carries the image of a golf club and may cover a multitude of possible situations from the sublime to the ridiculous.
4. Fr Kennedy could equally well be described as a priest who has done magnificent work as a parish priest ,a naval chaplain and a conscientious obljectot to Australia’s involvement it in training the Indonesian military for the terrorizing of East Timor.
5.If he is rejected by the official church because he lives out his beliefs and helps others to experience the God of love and compassion he is in good historical company.

By: Judy Hardy-Holden

Judy Hardy-Holden — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Is there a strange irony in the circumstance that Rome is busy inviting back old men who hate Jews and are generally yesterday’s dross while dismissing a priest who brings people into the Church in a loving way.

Strange isn’t it?