Peter Kennedy. The Man Who Threatened Rome

by Martin Flanagan

In February 2009 Father Peter Kennedy, of Saint Mary's Catholic Church in South Brisbane, was sacked by his Archbishop for contravening aspects of Catholic doctrine. This book is an assembly of voices. The introduction is by former Catholic priest and media commentator Paul Collins. Then there is a secular portrait of Kennedy as a man by journalist Martin Flanagan. Flanagan asks, not so much what has Kennedy done, but who is he? Freelance writer and author Michele Gierck stands with the congregation. Her book, 700 Days in El Salvador, is an account of the civil war there, which she saw from the inside. She stands inside the church now known as St Mary's-in-Exile and describes eleven of the parishioners as she sees them. Then follows a variety of viewpoints on Kennedy and the Church today, what he has done and what the Roman Catholic church has done in banning him from his church. The voices range from singer/songwriter Shane Howard to international theologian Hans Kung. The case against Kennedy is lucidly put by Catholic academic Neil Ormerod. The book ends with journalist Martin Flanagan meeting Kennedy for a second time. Who is this man who threatens Rome? Is Christianity, as Kennedy claims, dying in Australia?

222 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Martin Flanagan is the author of twenty books, a play and two movie treatments. He is one of Australia’s most respected sports journalists and wrote for The Age from 1985 to 2017.

Reviews

[Al Bità · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of information and personal testaments, etc. basically decrying Rome's sacking (via the local Archbishop) of Father Kennedy from his parish church of St Mary's in South Brisbane provides a wide-ranging and often moving cry of despair and outrage at the treatment Kennedy has suffered. His main fault is that he seems to want to try to resurrect the original spirit of Vatican Council II and run his parish in an open, all-embracing manner, close to the original spirit of the Gospels, with its main focus on social justice and hospitality.

To this end he refused to wear vestments when celebrating the Mass (except for a stole), welcomed everyone into the church (including the homeless, the local drunks, etc) permitted women and children to participate openly in the Mass, allowed a statue of a Buddhist monk to be installed in the church, blessing committed same-sex couples (the church blesses pets, cars, houses, ships, soldiers, so it was considered appropriate that same-sex couples should also be included) and the clincher (apparently this was what the Vatican 'caught' him on) using non-gender specific language in the liturgy (e.g. instead of baptising in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, he did so in the name of the Creator, the Redeemer and the Comforter). While these words are theologically safe, it made Rome suggest that baptisms using this formula were invalid...

The action against Kennedy was as a result of negative reports by a very few disgruntled, usually anonymous spies (they were known in the congregation as 'vatican spies') — and they are everywhere: conservative lay people who despise Vatican II and want the church to return to the past (an idea encouraged by both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI). These lay people seem to have direct access to the Curia in Rome; and the Curia responded... (Anyone who thinks that the 'catholic' Church is indeed catholic should think again — it is, in the 21st-c most definitely the "Roman" Catholic Church, and there is increasingly less justification in calling it universal in any sense of the word.) Kennedy could not in conscience renege the stance he took, and when he was fired from his post, he and most of his congregation moved into a nearby Trades and Labour Council building, where they are known as St Mary's in Exile.

I must admit that I found this book sad — not because I do not agree with the general sentiments expressed in the many articles, but because, based on history, I know that the immense and increasingly misplaced power of the Vatican will ensure that such truly Christ-ean communities such as St Mary's in Exile will not prevail against its might. For me this is merely another reason why religion on any massive scale is essentially evil in its effects, and that ultimately they must be seen as what they truly are: more concerned with power and authority than with the well-being of its lost sheep...

Better still would be for the world to fully understand that there are no gods.

[Stef Rozitis · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I started reading this, I was expecting it to be about a white man who is in love with his own wisdom making a big deal of himself while his followers pander to it. I knew (from experience) that something good is happening at St Mary's in exile, but I thought it was a case of one of those charismatic but controlling guru-types managing to take most of the credit for what is really the labour of many.

Reading the book I came to the conclusion that the title is quite misleading, because although the book looked at and discussed the role of Kennedy within the parish (and gave him credit for being the priest/leader who allowed the collaboration to happen, it also painted a complex picture of the labour, critique and imagination of many coming together and the bureaucratic/patriarchal church (and I was pleased how many authors of both genders acknowledged how much patriarchy is implicated at the shutting down of this faith work (or attempt to shut it down).

Kennedy himself in the book is painted in contradictory ways as both humble and arrogant, wise and stubborn, visionary and naive. He is clearly dearly loved by his parish but just as clearly not always worshipped, many of the authors say he is "flawed" either to demonstrate that this is not a cult, or because they truly have experienced him this way. He seems to be in many ways what I think a priest ought to be.

The writers in the book have many perspectives and not all agree with each other. Some are catholics or ex-catholics others find catholic thinking strange and even alienating. Some remain faithful to the church (and more or less critical of Kennedy and of St Mary's) and many are faithful to a bigger vision of God and frustrated that their beloved church tries to enforce a narrowing which limits their vocations to radical Christian life. The "radicalism" however is peaceful, reasoned, forgiving, generous and so much more humble and practical than my angry rantings toward the church. I was made to rethink my own faith and to critique my lack of forgiveness by this book.

It asks hard questions and calls out "the church" strongly! It does this for the most part with love, compassion and a spirit of reconciliation. The quality of the writing is by many different authors and very variable, in patches it is not wasy or enjoyable. Some of it is beautifully put and all of it is relevant and deeply considered. It ought to be read!