THE Australian Catholic Church has been embroiled in controversy, three weeks before the Pope makes his historic visit to Australia, over a convicted pedophile who is still serving as a priest. In defiance of the Pope, the Archdiocese of Brisbane continues to allow a convicted paedophile to remain a priest and celebrate Mass next to a school.
The Sun-Herald has learnt that the priest - Ronald John McKeirnan, 69, of Toowong in Brisbane's west - enjoys the support and protection of high-ranking church officials, including Archbishop John Bathersby, despite serving a year in prison in 1999 for molesting nine boys in the 1960s and 1970s.
The decision to support Mr McKeirnan conflicts with a statement by Pope Benedict XVI in April in which he said the church "would absolutely exclude paedophiles from the sacred ministry … Who is guilty of pedophilia cannot be a priest."
The Pope will arrive in Australia on July 13 in the lead-up to World Youth Day celebrations in Sydney.
Mr McKeirnan, a former deputy director of Brisbane Catholic Education who now works on church websites and conducts private Masses for other priests, pleaded guilty on two separate occasions to abusing children.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce