St Mary's priest defies sacking

By Toby Longhurst

More than 1400 parishioners turned up to St Mary's Catholic Church last weekend to support the defiant priest, Father Peter Kennedy.

Kennedy was controversially sacked earlier in the week by Archbishop John Bathersby for unorthodox practices such as blessing gay couples and selling books that questioned the divinity of Jesus. Father Kennedy is refusing to stand down from the position he has held for 30 years at the South Brisbane church.

More than 100 people packed the church pews for the service while another 400 gathered outside, unable to find space inside the historic building.

Fr Kennedy's appointed successor Dean Ken Howell was supposed to have lead the weekend's services, but was advised to stay away by QLD police.

Although Kennedy participated in the service, the mass was lead by community member Mary Ortiz who opened the proceedings with the words, “We are still here, we are still a community and God is with us”.

As is usually the case the mass was conducted without traditional church vestments, an acknowledgement of the local indigenous community, female and lay preachers, and gay and lesbian parishioners.

“We will be here next week; don't think that we won't be," Father Kennedy said at the conclusion of the service, before joining the congregation in a rendition of 'We Will Not be Moved'

Father Kennedy again invited the Archbishop to join the congregation and experience a mass at St Mary's.

“He has never been here except once, 12 years ago possibly, when the church was 100 years old,” Father Kennedy told Q News after the service.

“If he could have been in that mass of people there, and have seen the joy and the energy and the love. It would melt an Archbishop's heart."

Fr Kennedy told QNews he did not recognise his termination and intended to stay in his position and continue to build St Mary's as an inclusive church community.

“I don't really see myself as sacked, simply because the people haven't sacked me, and that's where my authority if you like comes from - the people," he said.

“We feed the wolf of compassion and kindness because so many people in the Catholic Church are excluded, like the gay people.”

"Gays and lesbians and people who are divorced are excluded and so we as Christians, we stand up for those who are excluded."

The future of St Mary's remains unclear, though Archbishop Bathersby has nominated former High Court judge Ian Callinan to be the independent mediator.