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George Pell conviction leaves Catholic parishioners 'hanging on by their fingernails'

By Charlotte King
ABC Ballarat
March 04, 2019

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-04/catholic-parishioners-grapple-with-pell-conviction/10866624

Father Andrew Hayes told his congregation he was sorry for the "lifetimes of torment" that church leaders had inflicted on abuse victims and their families.

Days after he led a prayer for Cardinal George Pell from inside the city's prison, an Ararat cleric has delivered a stirring homily calling for urgent reform in the Catholic Church.

Ararat's Father Andrew Hayes told a congregation of about 50 parishioners: "This weekend, as we begin our mass, our Cardinal is in jail".

"I am so sorry for what the church has done to you … the lifetimes of torment and loss of life," he said.

"Thank you for coming to mass today, it would have been reasonable to stay home — I am also ashamed, and embarrassed."

Cardinal George Pell, Australia's most senior Catholic cleric, was last year convicted of sexually abusing two choirboys in 1996. He will be sentenced on March 13. An appeal against the conviction has been lodged.

Mass delivered days after prayer for Cardinal in prison

Not only is Father Hayes the parish priest of St Mary's in Ararat, he is also the chaplain to 700 prisoners in the city's correctional centre.

"Some of those are the priests I had when I was a boy," Father Hayes said in an interview after the service.

"And it is tricky but we keep coming back to, our job is to be Jesus, who loves them too."

Father Hayes gave mass to his convicted parishioners on Thursday, the day after Cardinal George Pell was taken into custody for historic child sexual abuse offences.

He said it was the prisoners who brought up the matter.

"At the beginning of mass out there, we say who will we pray for today. And very often, they say, 'I pray for my wife and kids'.

"It wasn't one of the priests who said, 'Can we pray for Cardinal Pell? We remember what it's like to be in court and go to jail the first few days, and it's frightening, and a nightmare'."

The priest then led the congregation of prison inmates in a prayer for the Cardinal..

Parishioners 'hanging on by their fingernails'

During the mass at St Mary's, Father Hayes wore a cloth with coloured ribbons that had been sewn across it by his mother.

He said it was a reference to the 'loud fence' movement, whereby members of the community tie ribbons to the gates of institutions where abuse occurred, in support of survivors.

Parishioners were asked to give feedback on how they want the church to change.

"It just sickens me, to tell you the truth," said Peter Gemmola, a former teacher who had been coming to mass all his life.

"I have a real love of children, and to see that happen to them, just makes my blood boil."

He said the only reason he was still attending church was because of his faith in his parish priest.

"Many Catholics have walked away from the church as a result of the child abuse scandal," he said.

"Many of us are hanging by our fingernails and are looking for signs of a genuine and more relevant church."

Mr Gemmola said he wanted formal confession abolished, priests to be allowed to marry — and for the church to accept homosexuality.

"Because I think the church at the moment is irrelevant to modern society.

"I'm just afraid because of the hardliners in Rome … change will come too late."

Push to make church structures more democratic

Father Hayes said wide reform across the Catholic Church was critical to its survival.

"These really clever, faithful lay people need to be leading and sharing their wisdom.

"Our hope is that that's then going to be taken forward and the church meeting at the end of next year will shift a bit on some of those things."

"You look at the empty seats," Father Hayes said.

"The country of Australia used to listen to the church because we had something valuable to offer.

"Well the country's stopped listening," he said.




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