Thousands of emails have been sent to the Vatican petitioning against the retiring of an Irish priest from his Australian parish.
Fr Bob Maguire (77) who presents a number of programmes on radio and TV in Australia will be forced to step down as parish priest of South Melbourne on February 1 due to his age.
However supporters have launched an online petition to keep the 77 year old cleric in a job, against a rule that sees priests asked to step down when they reach 75 years of age unless they are granted an exemption by their Bishop.
Fr Maguire was due to step down in 2009 having reached 75 years of age but was granted an extension by his Bishop to remain on until 2012.
More than 2,000 emails have been sent to the Vatican asking Pope Benedict XVI to intervene, with copies also forwarded to Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart.
South Melbourne resident Michael Nelthorpe, who began the online petition, says that Fr Bob, “works extremely hard and should be allowed continue as parish priest.”
“He is as fit and determined as ever and at 77 he is seven years younger than Pope Benedict, so it is hypocritical of the church for using his age as the reason for asking him to resign. He should be allowed continue to do God's work for as long as he wishes and should not be told to resign.”
Speaking on the issue Archbishop Denis Hart said he is happy with Fr Bob's work but wants to free him of the administrative burden that comes with been a parish priest.
“With him been 77 I think it is best for us to allow Fr Bob to do the things for which we know and love him but to relieve him of the day to day work of running the parish of South Melbourne. What we'll do is we will be able to set him up in a base where he can continue to do his community work. He can relate to the community he loves, he can still say Masses in our parishes around Melbourne, so there's lots of flexibility. I don't think Fr Bob Maguire will ever go to a retired priest’s home.”
Fr Maguire is one of Australia's most popular priests.
As well as his parish work, he set up the Fr Bob Foundation that fundraises for and helps the underprivileged in Australia, a role that saw him awarded the Order of Australia, the country's highest honour, in 1989.
He is also a presenter on National Youth radio Triple J and on SBS television.