- \n
- Drive away Ted Kennedy’s supporters;<\/li>\n
- Drive away the Aborigines; deny that they come to this church;<\/li>\n
- Don’t engage with non-Neocat parishioners; don’t listen to them; don’t talk to them if it can be avoided; Keep them in the dark regarding parish matters;<\/li>\n
- Ignore and\/or deny their reasonable requests;<\/li>\n
- Tell them they aren’t Catholics; that they are not welcome in this church; attack them from the pulpit;<\/li>\n
- Keep looking at the time when in their presence; rush out of church at the end of Sunday Mass;<\/li>\n
- Make it hard for them to bury their dead;<\/li>\n
- Help them understand what it means to be marginalised;<\/li>\n
- Do these things with the unconditional support of your archbishop.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\nDid someone forget to tell Melvin Llabanes?<\/p>\n
Since Fr Melvin celebrated his first Sunday Mass as pp at St Vincent’s a month ago (18 September), none of these things have happened.<\/p>\n
He is shaping up to be the first of the post-Kennedy parish priests to bring some hope of sanity, humanity and Christianity back to the role.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/church-mouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/IMG_8587Melvin.jpg\")
\nMelvin – Griffo’s funeral<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
For eight years the job definition for parish priest of St Vincent’s Redfern could well have included essentials such as:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Drive away Ted Kennedy’s supporters;<\/li>\n
- Drive away the Aborigines; deny that they come to this church;<\/li>\n
- Don’t engage with non-Neocat parishioners; don’t listen to them; don’t talk to them if it can be avoided; Keep them in the dark regarding parish matters;<\/li>\n
- Ignore and\/or deny their reasonable requests;<\/li>\n
- Tell them they aren’t Catholics; that they are not welcome in this church; attack them from the pulpit;<\/li>\n
- Keep looking at the time when in their presence; rush out of … Continue reading