Brisbane priest sacked over Catholic feud
- From: Alan Ferris <hairy.ferrit@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 08 Feb 2009 11:24:03 +0000
Brisbane priest sacked over Catholic feud
By Kim Lyell and Kerrin Binnie
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/08/2485449.htm?section=australia
The Archbishop of Brisbane previously warned Father Peter Kennedy to
stop flouting church rules or face the sack. (ABC TV News)
Audio: Brisbane Catholic Church priest sacked (ABC News) Map: Brisbane
4000
A priest has been sacked from a Brisbane church after a long-running
feud with the Vatican.
St Mary's Roman Catholic Church at South Brisbane has been accused of
performing unorthodox mass and not respecting the church hierarchy.
The Archbishop of Brisbane, John Bathersby, previously warned Father
Peter Kennedy to stop flouting church rules or face the sack.
In a letter received on Friday, Archbishop Bathersby said Father
Kennedy and "the community have not budged an inch".
It says Father Kennedy's appointment will be terminated on February
21, unless he resigns first.
Father Kennedy says he is considering his options.
"I've been here 28 years and I know this community is solidly behind
me, and so we could go elsewhere," he said.
In the letter, Archbishop Bathersby says parishioners cannot be
stopped from breaking away but has warned them they will not be in
communion with the Roman Catholic Church.
Around 700 people repeated the familiar Catholic rites at mass at St
Mary's in south Brisbane this morning.
The letter visibly upset the congregation.
Parishioners at the Brisbane parish say will continue to celebrate
mass in their own way.
Margaret Ortiz from the St Mary's leadership group says the
congregation is staying put and Father Kennedy will continue to say
mass.
"They would have to come a physically remove us," she said.
Vince Knauth, also from St Mary's leadership group, says it is not
right that Father Kennedy is being singled out.
"Statistically this week 4,392 priests and deacons of the United
States were subject to allegations of child molestation - that's
between 1950 and 2002," he said.
"Two per cent of those were actually put behind bars.
"Peter [Kennedy] would be in better books with the Catholic church if
he'd molested a child than what we're doing here."
---------------------------
Alan - And that for a fact is true. It would appear the church
consideres child molestation below that of not following the rules. If
only they have been so prepared to act when priests were abusing
children they would never have faced the mess they created, and
thousands of children would have been saved from abuse.
----------------------------
Father Kennedy has appealed to the Archbishop to reconsider.
--
Ferrit
()'.'.'()
( (T) )
( ) . ( )
(")_(")
"The right to be let alone is indeed the beginning of all freedom"
Supreme Court Justice William Orville Douglas
.
- Follow-Ups:
- Re: Brisbane priest sacked over Catholic feud
- From: Patrick
- Re: Brisbane priest sacked over Catholic feud
- Prev by Date: Catholics leaving over reinstatement of Holocaust denier
- Next by Date: The Church of Scientology is antipsychiatry. What about the Roman Catholic Church?
- Previous by thread: Catholics leaving over reinstatement of Holocaust denier
- Next by thread: Re: Brisbane priest sacked over Catholic feud
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
