Posted on 01/13/2009 6:50:29 AM PST by NYer
MAVERICK priest Father Peter Kennedy says he will lead a breakaway congregation if Brisbane's catholic Archbishop forces him to leave St Mary's Church.
There are fears that exclusion from the historic South Brisbane property will be the final act in a long-running dispute that has reached the Vatican. The dispute has attracted national and international attention because it represents the battle between conservative and less traditional forces within the Catholic Church.
There are more Roman Catholics in Australia than any other religious group. Each week, St Mary's attracts large congregations while many more orthodox Catholic parishes struggle to fill pews. In a rare and exclusive interview, Father Kennedy said he was determined to carry on. "The reality is that, if we are excluded from this church, the Trades and Labor Council have already offered us their place just down the road," he said. "I will continue. Our community will continue down there. We get 800 to 900 people coming every week. It's a vibrant, alive mass with people from all over the city."
St Mary's is known for its unconventional Catholic practices - allowing women to preach, blessing homosexual couples and recognising with ritual the traditional sovereignty of the indigenous people of the area. The latest round in the battle was sparked by a complaint direct to the Vatican in August from an aggrieved church-goer.
Brisbane Archbishop John Bathersby accused the parish of operating outside the accepted practices of the Roman Catholic Church and encouraged Father Kennedy to fall in line or face closure. The parishioners responded to the accusations but - in a follow-up letter to Father Kennedy, dated December 22 - Archbishop Bathersby said: "St Mary's has not yet adequately given proof of its communion with the Archdiocese of Brisbane and the Roman Catholic Church."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
While it’s sad when people leave the Church, it is the honest thing to do if one doesn’t believe what the Church teaches. Hopefully this priest and his congregation of lost sheep will realize the error of their ways and return to the fullness of truth after having been taught a lesson. Excommunication of heretics is medicinal for the faithful and the heretics alike.
Judgmental.....isn’t that a pet word the liberals use when they describe the religious right?
We all sin, Jesus is the one who will “judge the living and the dead”.....however it remains the duty and the obligation of the Church and their priests to lead us out of sin and into salvation. Fr. Kennedy is neglecting that duty. The church remains correct in disciplining him for this.
Bwahahahah!!!!
Jesus, wasting valuable nard that could have been sold and the money given to the poor. How inconsiderate of the Son of God, Kennedy's savior must of been/is Judas Iscariot.
Maybe the reprobate should actually open his eyes, listen to God, read the Word and figure out why we have “the poor” in the first place.
Miss Marple..there you go again...who said I don’t believe ANY of the tenets?
Even the pope says the birth control thing is difficult. Catholic church tells people not to practice birth control and then can’t take responsibility for the babies who born and die of starvation. Catholic charities only gets so much money to help.
Pro-life is my #1 requirement in a political candidate. I also believe in preventing death if possible...like the horror of babies who starve to death.
I think the Catholic church would be stronger and healthier if it included priests who wish to marry and I certainly don’t believe they should allow homosexual marriage.
I can’t find any word of God that says men shall not marry and be Catholic priests.
This will sound contradictory to what I’ve said, but I agree, they must correct him because he has violated his vow to follow their teaching. The point I’m raising is that they need to look at some of the teachings...they are not all from the Word of God, some were written by men.
It is astounding how much you sound like the 40-something ladies I knew in the Episcopal Church. You are just repeating word for word the same old talking points that I heard over there for years. And, hey, I used to believe them too, when I was a young college graduate and thought I was being cool and with it.
Somebody has sold you the liberal line, and you may honestly believe it, but please honestly believe me when I say I have BEEN there, DONE that in a denomination that is facially Catholic but has adopted all of the innovations that you believe would make the Catholic Church "stronger and healthier".
That idea could not be more wrong. The Episcopal Church has descended into irrelevance, has denied most of the major Christian doctrines at this point (like the Trinity, and the Incarnation, and the Resurrection, and so forth). It's bleeding membership and riven by lawsuits and dissension. If you truly love the Catholic Church, you should not wish that on her.
If you still want those changes, just join the Episcopalians and you can have them all to your heart's content. Of course, you'll get all the other stuff that goes with them -- and it's bad.
That's the most Protestant thing you've said so far.
The Catholic Church is not a Bible Only church.
Confession with true sorrow and regret is necessary for forgiveness but we are also taught that accepting that we sin and asking for forgiveness is not good enough. We must avoid sin. If you have premarital sex or use contraception in your marriage, then asking for forgiveness isn’t good enough if you repeatedly do it knowing it is wrong.
The avoidance of sin is ONE of the things Catholics believe. Some bible thumping protestants live for forgiveness, and sing about their sins rather than behaving better and avoiding sins and doing the right thing in the first place.
Should married Catholics all just be rabbits, abstain, or leave the church?
I know that the Catholic church is not a bible only church. The point is that rules have evolved...and they have also changed. I wish I could recall what the church just apologized for that happened like 500 years ago. It took them a long time to acknowledge it. Point is, there have been errors.
True contrition is necessary, but lots of people repeatedly fall into sin. If they can't resist temptation, they need to pray for the grace to resist.
Of course it's hard (virtue is hard) but the fruits of contraception have proved to be promiscuity, divorce, pornography, and abortion. Even C.S. Lewis called that one, a long time ago (you will find the quote in The Abolition of Man, I believe). So you trade a passing convenience (not having to do the hard work of NFP) for horrific societal and moral consequences.
It's the same for all the other innovations you propose. They have already played out in the Episcopal Church, and the results are horrific. They wouldn't be any different in the Catholic Church. Isn't the definition of insanity repeating the same actions while expecting different results?
I think it was one of those politically convenient ecumenical things that happens from time to time. But if I recall correctly, it did not involve Church doctrine per se but merely the imposition of a penalty which some believe to have been unjust.
Your comment about"rabbits" sounds very anti-Catholic. I am becoming suspicious about you motives.
Corrected spelling. I forget I don’t have an edit program here.
Who says the Church doesn’t take responsibility for babies? Mother Theresa herself offered to take the babies people didn’t want. All over this nation we have Catholic organizations who help with adoption, care for unwed mothers, and aid for poor families.
Your comment about”rabbits” sounds very anti-Catholic. I am becoming suspicious about your motives.
What are you referring to? SOME teaching are written by man and not the Word of God? Name a specific one, please. You have lost me.
“Recovering Catholic” is a term used by moral light-weights to proclaim the reason for their bad behavior; usually they blame their parenting as well. You hear it used often at AA meetings by participants not willing to take responsibility for their shortcomings. When I hear someone calling him/hersef that, I customarily walk out and find another meeting.
Oh I see, you think that Mother Theresa in her saint’s life absorbed the responsibility for the church? Have you offered to take a dying baby? I just attended an amazing talk by a young woman who worked with Mother Theresa for an entire year. I wonder if you would have a clue about anything that she would have talked about.
You are suspicious of my motives. Did you learn that in convert class too?
I like your definition....I know a guy who calls himself a recovering Catholic......he is living in sin and mocking the faith of his ancestors. Very sad for him.
Catholic priests must be men. Single men. God said so, right?
I wish you peace in however you reconcile yourself with your faith. I sincerely belive your objections to the Church are wrong. No more on this will I say.
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