Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Priest refuses to take part in replacement talks

A Brisbane priest at the centre of a row with the Catholic Church says he will not take part in talks over his replacement.

Father Peter Kennedy is refusing to leave St Mary's in South Brisbane after he was sacked for practices deemed out of communion with the Catholic Church.

Church authorities today hired former High Court Justice Ian Callinan to attempt mediation with Father Kennedy.

The Chancellor of the Brisbane Archdiocese, Father Adrian Farrelly, says Mr Callinan is a logical choice.

"If you were going to be involved in a mediation to have someone of his calibre be the mediator it seems to me ... personally I'm very glad and I'm sure the Archbishop is very glad that Justice Callinan has agreed to do the job," he said.

The church proposed the talks to ensure a smooth transition to a new church administrator but Father Kennedy says he will not participate.

"That's not mediation ... that is bullying. That is not mediation; you see bullies never get enough of bullying and Rome bullies the bishops and the bishops bully us," he said.
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(Source: ABC)