Category Archives: Our pastors

The 1992 papal exhortation, Pastores Dabo Vobis , (meaning “I shall give you shepherds”) can be found on the Vatican web site. The evidence suggests that at least the following sections might have been overlooked during the selection of pastors for the parish of St Vincent’s Redfern.

They are Part 43, under the subsection heading Human Formation, the Basis of All Priestly Formation:

… priests should therefore cultivate a series of human qualities, not only out of proper and due growth and realization of self, but also with a view to the ministry. These qualities are needed for them to be balanced people, strong and free, capable of bearing the weight of pastoral responsibilities. They need to be educated to love the truth, to be loyal, to respect every person, to have a sense of justice, to be true to their word, to be genuinely compassionate, to be men of integrity and, especially, to be balanced in judgment and behaviour. A simple and demanding program for this human formation can be found in the words of the apostle Paul to the Philippians: “Whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil. 4:8). It is interesting to note that Paul, precisely in these profoundly human qualities, presents himself as a model to his faithful, for he goes on to say: “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do” (Phil. 4:9).
Of special importance is the capacity to relate to others. This is truly fundamental for a person who is called to be responsible for a community and to be a “man of communion.” This demands that the priest not be arrogant, or quarrelsome, but affable, hospitable, sincere in his words and heart, prudent and discreet, generous and ready to serve, capable of opening himself to clear and brotherly relationships and of encouraging the same in others, and quick to understand, forgive and console (cf. 1 Tm. 3:1-5; Ti. 1:7-9). ….. Today this is one of the most eloquent signs and one of the most effective ways of transmitting the Gospel message.


And Part 72, under the subsection heading Different Dimensions of Ongoing Formation:

The People of God should be able to say about the priest, who has increasingly matured in human sensitivity, something similar to what we read about Jesus in the letter to the Hebrews: “For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning” (Heb. 4:15).



Contact details for the appointed pastors at St Vincent’s:

108 Great Buckingham St Redfern, NSW Australia, 2016
PO Box 1067, Strawberry Hills, NSW Australia, 2012
Phone: +61 (0)2 9698 3030 or +61 (0)400 335 220
Fax: +61 (0)2 9699 9808
Email: stvinred@bigpond.net.au

Warning – these individuals are Neocats!

The Canberra Times, Thursday Aug 26 2004 p18

Police at Mass

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Sr Dom has been absent from St Vincent’s for some time, recovering from the dreadful physical and psychological abuse that she was subjected to in the church earlier this year – see Violence at St Vincent’s.

This morning she returned, attending the 10am Mass at St Vincent’s for the first time since those vicious attacks. Her presence was acknowledged, not by the parish clergy, but by a member of the local constabulary, who stopped by to ensure that Sr Dom was safe.
This was a welcome change from the norm. The parish clergy, in … Continue reading →

The archetypal shepherd

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Read about our most caring and compassionate (whoops – badly worded, but you know what I mean) George Cardinal Pell here.

And as the saga unfolds also here.

Brian Coyne (Catholica Australia) has expressed things far better in these words:

The exercise is like trying to resurrect a broken down motor vehicle engine – something else I’ve been involved in at various points in my life. If the engine has something like a broken crankshaft, or a smashed big end bearing (something wrong deep down in the heart of the engine where you … Continue reading →

Violence at St Vincent’s

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There have been many violent incidents at St Vincent’s since the arrival of the Neocats in Redfern, and some have been reported on these pages over the years. Most, if viewed in isolation, might be dismissed as comparatively trivial, but when each is considered as part of an overall pattern of behaviour it becomes clear that there is a serious problem at St Vincent’s.

Several recent incidents can definitely not be classified as trivial, no matter how they are viewed.

On Tuesday, 11 March 2008, an elderly nun, who has worked tirelessly with the marginalised for many years, was physically … Continue reading →

The Vatican responds

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Back in the middle of 2007 the community sent letters and copies of a detailed report on the Redfern Neocat experience to a number of senior bishops in the Vatican. Some of the letters may be found here. To date only one reply has been received – from Archbishop Mauro Piacenza on behalf of the Congregation for the Clergy (Congregatio pro Clericis). His letter is reproduced below.

It is difficult to take seriously Piacenza’s claim that the Dicastery studied the May 2007 report when he pronounces that … Continue reading →

Easter liturgy prescribed

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Despite several attempts over the last couple of weeks to engage the Neocat clergy in dialogue over details for the Easter ceremonies there has been stoney silence until the following item appeared in the church bulletin this weekend.

Holy Week Guidelines

The liturgy as prescribed for Holy Week and at all other times is the public worship of the whole Church and therefore must be respected. The liturgies for Holy Week are to follow the rubrics of the Church. These are outlined in any Sunday Missal.

None of the liturgies are to be done without me[sic] being … Continue reading →

Neocats will save us

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from    MArcos Antonio Patino
date    Wed, Feb 13, 2008 at 5:24 PM
subject Church Mouse: World Youth Day

Dear Church Mouse,

I am a Young Catholic from the NeoCatechumenal Way. I am coming to Sydney in July 2008 for World Youth Day and with 40 young people from the NeoCatechumenal Way from my PArish here in the United States of America.

I admired your passion and work for the Aboriginal People in Australia, but I think you are using your Church for Political reasons. The Church is not a Politcal platform nor a Political … Continue reading →

Sorry Day

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Sorry Day, 13 February 2008, was a day of great happiness and hope for our Aboriginal brothers and sisters. On that day our new government said sorry for many of the atrocities inflicted upon Aborigines by previous administrations.

   

Readers might be interested in Fr Frank Brennan’s piece Stolen Generations apology ‘about right’ or the item Speech gets standing ovation in Redfern in the Sydney Morning Herald.

   

It is hard to imagine what the Redfern Neocat clergy made of all this.

 

 

… Continue reading →

Update

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How many parishes have to live with the constant threat of having their Masses terminated?

 

The following notice is displayed prominently in the vestibule of St Vincent’s church:

 

     

 

It first appeared in the church bulletin for two weeks after Sunday December 16 2007, when the Neocats, their travesty of a “Liturgycal Committe” in tatters, attempted to stifle the Community’s input to the liturgy with the bully-boy tactics … Continue reading →

The last straw?

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A couple of weeks ago, on Sunday December 2, the Saving Word (Parish Bulletin) issued an "invitation". Beneath the heading "NEW LITURGYCAL COMMITTE"[sic] it suggested that “Anyone interested in being part of the new liturgical committee please contact Fr Clesio". In all, some thirteen applicants responded from the long-term community and of these, the committee was initially made up of the two priests, two neocatechumenal lay persons and three members of the long term community.

The community was acutely aware that no person of Aboriginal descent had been accepted onto the committee. The two that applied have been integral … Continue reading →