Peter Kennedy: What you do is more important than what you believe

When Catholic priest Father Peter Kennedy was ordered to leave St Mary’s Church in Bris­bane accused of unortho­dox practices, he and his flock began an extra­or­di­nary jour­ney in exile.

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ABOUT Father Peter Kennedy

“Father Peter Kennedy, a past navy, hos­pi­tal and prison Chap­lain then a parish priest, has been described by Peter Nor­den of the Mel­bourne Law School as, “a very com­pas­sion­ate man, com­mit­ted to his priestly min­istry, cre­ative in his pas­toral responses, and engag­ing in his manner”.

After more than twenty years at St Mary’s South Brisbane, Peter and the faith com­mu­nity were expelled; dis­pos­sessed of their prop­erty and facil­i­ties. In this place they exer­cised a min­istry of care and sup­port for the poor and the needy. Their offence was to exer­cise a min­istry of inclu­sion and welcome.

Peter’s con­cern for the issues of jus­tice and human rights within this broader view of min­istry, beyond the purely rit­u­al­is­tic or strictly sacra­men­tal, has been expressed by his cre­ative responses to the needs of an authen­tic con­tem­po­rary Chris­t­ian min­istry. These ways have healed and rec­on­ciled whilst con­tin­u­ing his cre­ative min­istry of wel­come and inclusion.”

The VIDEO

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