Father Peter Kennedy, sacked for being gay-friendly among others reasons, is the subject of a new documentary.
The Trouble With St Mary’s is a new documentary soon to
screen on ABC1 that charts the extraordinary journey of 72-year-old
Catholic priest Father Peter Kennedy, who was sacked by the Vatican
Church two years ago for challenging traditional Catholic beliefs and
rituals like the Virgin Birth and the infallibility of the Pope.
The movie follows Kennedy, known for welcoming gay parishioners, and
his flock over two years as they attempt to wrestle with notions of
faith and spirituality outside Catholic Church doctrine.
The film’s director Peter Hegedus told City Voice he was
drawn to making a documentary about the plight of Kennedy after becoming
aware sometime in 2005 that a letter from an archbishop had arrived
warning the priest and his followers that they were going against Church
teachings.
“Peter Kennedy went through an amazing transformation over the last
30 years and I think he was more interested in what happened to the
people around him than following a set of rules.
“Thus he went with the times, and was very much in touch with the
social issues of the day which caused him to change as a person,”
Hegedus said.