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	Catholic Priest's Sacking 'Will Kill Parish' The Australian February 21, 2009 http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25085146-5006786,00.html A LEGAL battle over the future of rebel Catholic priest Peter Kennedy from St Mary's parish in Brisbane is headed for the Supreme Court after a last minute injunction to stop his dismissal from today failed last night. While the injunction, filed by legal members of St Mary's congregation, failed to stop Father Kennedy's dismissal from today, judge James Douglas adjourned the case for further submissions on his behalf. The argument advanced for Father Kennedy is that Brisbane Archbishop John Bathersby breached canon law and did not follow correct procedure in his actions in sacking Father Kennedy. Further submissions on behalf of Father Kennedy are expected in the next few days, but Judge Douglas indicated that he wanted the Catholic Church to respond to the claims before he heard the case. Matters at St Mary's are expected to come to a head tomorrow morning, when Father Ken Howell, who was appointed by Archbishop Bathersby as the new administrator of St Mary's, will conduct Mass. Father Kennedy has said that he will also attend mass. St Mary's parishioners say the sacking of their priest will mean the end of their strong community. Father Kennedy has been parish priest at St Mary's since the early 1980s, and since that time attendance has increased from about 50 people for two services to up to 1000 for three services on Saturday night and Sunday. Women play a part in services at St Mary's and the church gives communion to openly gay people, which are both contrary to traditional Catholic teaching. Father Kennedy also refuses to wear vestments and has used the terms "Creator, Liberator, Sustainer" instead of "Father, Son, Holy Ghost". Most of the St Mary's congregation is strongly supportive of Father Kennedy, who will be the first priest in Australia sacked for the way he runs his services. In the past few months there have been what the St Mary's congregation calls "spies" who have been recording services on tape and video -- sometimes secretly, sometimes quite openly -- and sending them off to the Vatican. Karyn Walsh, who sits on the church's committee, said most of the community was shocked at the process that led to Father Kennedy's sacking. "What they can't understand is why the archbishop hasn't accepted any of our invitations to come over here and actually see for himself what's going on," she said. In an interview with The Weekend Australian magazine, Archbishop Bathersby said if he had visited the church, it would have "legitimised" the service. "I mean, they sit there and tell me to go jump then say 'Come over here and see what we're doing'. What would I do, be paraded around?" he said.
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