Wednesday, June 1, 2011

The trouble with st Mary's : Compass

We watched the trouble with St Mary's on Compass. 
It is a story of a Catholic Church 'St Mary's in Brisbane which started practices which were outside of the doctrine of the Church. (blessing homosexual couples etc ), Eventually the Priest Father Peter Kennedy is asked to leave. He does so and the congregation follows. A first in the history of the Catholic Church in Australia.

A Few thoughts::

:: Interesting that this group of worshipers under Kennedy had something, it appears a move of God.
::There is a scene where Kenndy is at a loss. It appears he doesn't know what he believes any more and even doubts the existence of Jesus. (He points to the question of the 'Historical Jesus', A question that all must face I believe if they are serious about their faith)
  • For his critics this most probably would say that this man has started a cult.
  • For myself it is something that I can relate to. When you loose a lot, separated, bereaved this is a time when you question all that went before. For me it made the documentary even more compelling.
  • I would rather follow a person who had doubts that had it all together.
  • I think when Jesus talks about been 'born again' (I think this is in John). It is a word that is continuous. To be born again, and again, and again, and again. It is a continuous evolving of our relationship with God. It is where I see Kennedy to be. 
::Kennedy has spoken in 'progressive Christian' circles its a bit of a pity this wasn't mentioned.
::This is the first Catholic Church in Australia. It would be interesting if more follow. Certainly the 'Uniting Church' is over this hurdle, it will be interesting as the battle continues for main stream protestants and Catholics..

2 comments:

Peter said...

Scott, thanks so much for you blog. It's really thought provoking...I am just glad we got to make the film we made so that these discussions CAN take place...thanks Peter, our site is www.thetroublewithstmarys.com

Scott said...

Thanks Peter for leaving a comment. All the best for you and your community. You really do have my admiration. Look forward to see what is around the corner for St Mary's in Exile...
Scott