Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Resignation standoff Priest to appeal to Pope

A SIX-month standoff between Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Bishop Michael Malone and a Muswellbrook priest has gone to the Vatican after the priest refused the bishop's request to resign over matters including his "isolationist attitude".

Bishop Malone's decision in July last year to investigate Father James Lunn's suitability as a priest under a section of the church's canon law prompted outraged letters from his community to Pope Benedict XVI.

"I am appalled at statements that have been made about Father James Lunn and cannot understand how a bishop who has spoken up so strongly about justice has produced such a document," parish council spokeswoman Monica Brown said in a letter to Bishop Malone in November after the bishop wrote to the priest requesting him to resign.

The November letter followed an investigation of complaints about the priest's intervention in a dispute over bullying allegations at a parish school, which included an appeal by him to the Catholic Education Office.

Father Lunn responded to Bishop Malone's letter to resign by appealing to his community in December about "what to do".

Mrs Brown said the priest received overwhelming support, including the unanimous support of his parish council. 

He engaged a canon lawyer to appeal to the Pope and fight the bishop.

"Parishioners are very distressed that we have been blessed with a good holy priest who supports us when we need him, is extraordinary with the dying and has the commitment to his people, but the bishop wants to get rid of him. We don't understand," she said.

Father Lunn is priest of the combined parish of St James Muswellbrook and St Thomas Aberdeen, which was ministered by two priests until a lack of priests forced its merger.

The combined parish includes three aged care centres and a hospital.

"He is alone and the load is all on him," Mrs Brown said.

Bishop Malone's controversial decision in September to sell a significant portion of the diocese's aged care centres was "distressing" but was not an issue in the dispute with Father Lunn, Mrs Brown said.

Father Lunn declined to comment. 

Bishop Malone was unavailable to comment.

SIC: NH/AUS