Maverick cleric Father Peter Kennedy defied the Catholic Church by conducting mass at St Mary's in South Brisbane this morning. An estimated 2000 parishioners gathered to hear the rebel priest, who was sacked from his position by Brisbane Archbishop John Bathersby on Friday.
The church was filled to capacity with every available seat occupied, while dozens more worshippers remained outside.Father Kennedy reiterated a call for Archbishop Bathersby to attend a service at the church to better understand the St Mary's community.
''It's sad the archbishop is not here because if he was he could not turn away from this community,'' Fr Kennedy told the parish.
Refusing to stand down, Fr Kennedy reassured members he would be at the next Sunday mass.
The parish's newly appointed priest, Fr Ken Howell, stayed away after being advised by police not to attend following revelations on Saturday that Archbishop Bathersby had been the target of a bomb threat.
Fr Kennedy rejected the idea of a parish member resorting to bomb threats, saying no one wanted a confrontation but rather understanding.
Parish member Tadgh Carter agreed.
''I don't think it would be coming from this community. It's not the way we do things,'' Mr Carter said.
''It could be anyone who has a grudge against the Catholic church.''
The Archbishop formally terminated Father Kennedy's tenure over the controversial priest's unorthodox practices, which included blessing homosexual couples, not wearing traditional vestments and allowing parishioners to lead parts of the service.
The furore over St Mary's has reached the Vatican and, since Christmas, Archbishop Bathersby has been under increasing pressure to resolve the situation.
The rebel priest vowed the St Mary's community would continue to fight its detractors before the service closed with a rendition of We Shall Not Be Moved.
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(Source: CBCC)