The letter

In the May 2 letter, Porteous railed against the "radicalised transgender lobby", same-sex marriage and the "woke movement".

"What we are now witnessing in our Australian society is the imposition of certain ideological positions on social and moral questions by means of legislation" the archbishop wrote.

"We are challenged as to why we do not accept what is now viewed as reasonable and acceptable behaviour.

Since the same-sex marriage plebiscite, "we have seen the growth in what has been referred to as the 'woke' movement, seeking to overturn other traditional values and beliefs".

"This has included the push for 'diversity and inclusivity' training in the corporate sector and the attack on the biological reality of being male or female through a radicalised transgender lobby.

"As the Church, we cannot stand by as we experience our freedoms being taken from us."

The letter was widely distributed among Tasmania's Catholic schools.

Politicians and LGBTQIA+ advocates criticised it as being transphobic, homophobic and draconian.

School response

After its school community received the letter, one school wrote to parents.

St Cuthbert's Catholic School told them it had replied to the archbishop. It confirmed it is "committed to developing an inclusive and accepting culture that is in harmony with the Catholic tradition".

It will "continue to foster a safe, respectful and inclusive environment" for students and the school community.

The Independent Education Union supported St Cuthbert's response to the archbishop.

"Taking a stand like this on behalf of students, staff and the whole community is in the best tradition of Catholic social justice" the union said.

The Archdiocese of Hobart declined to comment on the school's response.

By Wednesday evening, the school's message to parents via an internal communication app had been deleted.

Archbishop rebuked

Concerned Catholics Tasmania (CCT) — a group "committed to renewal and reform in our Church" — rebuked the letter's "heartless" and "alarmist" tone.

Porteous's "reference to 'God's own people' is both arrogant and exclusory" and "a form of aggression and violence" the CCT said.

She was concerned that Porteous's letter suggested "no one is being forced to teach in or be a student in a Catholic school ...".

If they find their personal views are at variance with those of the Catholic faith, "then it would only make sense they should seek an alternative educational institution more aligned with their views" Poteous wrote.

Hate speech

Tasmanian MP Kristie Johnston criticised the letter as "nothing short of hateful speech".

Tasmanian LGBTQIA+ advocacy group Equality Tasmania said the letter contained "misinformation and disinformation, and also some homophobic and transphobic beliefs".

Source

• ABC

"There's a culture of unaccountable clericalism where the power of the Archbishop and clergy in general is really exercised with very little consultation and accountability to the people that the church is meant to serve," Board member Carey McIver (pictured) says.

Concerned Catholics Australia formed as a result of "a lot of frustration", McIver says.

The group wants to create a church "relevant to the 21st century … a church that is inclusive, listens, invites participation of all people not simply those that are of a clerical order," he explains.

This would involve greater representation of women, who make up 50 per cent of the congregation, in leadership and governance roles.

"Our late Archbishop Guilford Young advocated this back in the early 60s … and here we are 70 years later and the role of women is still undervalued." he says.

Another item on the group's wish list is "active pastoral councils" in parishes to advise priests and better meet the needs of the community.

"There are contentious social issues that we hold a line in the sand on that are not debatable," he says.

"That's not, in my humble opinion, a church that reflects how the world has changed in terms of our understanding of science, technology, the universe of which we are a part."

To illustrate how far the Church is from this reality, McIver offers the example of the fallout from the 2019 appointment of Father Nicholas Rynne.

Rynne was appointed as the parish administrator of the Meander Valley parish. However tensions arose over his more traditional approach.

Concerned parishioners wrote to the archbishop about changes Rynne was 'forcing' on them.

After an investigation, Rynne was removed from the parish.

Despite his removal, some say the views of parishioners were not listened to soon enough.

Concerned Catholics' Australia founding member Paul Collins says the Rynne incident was not unique.

Laity and quite a number of priests in Tasmania have had for some time, he says,

"These concerns centre around the voice of the laity being heard, the kind of issues that the laity are focussed on, and particularly concerns about appointments to parishes.

The church's future could be "disastrous" unless the leadership was prepared to have "sufficient emotional intelligence" to listen to other people, Collins says.

Hobart's Vicar General, Father Shammi Perera, says he is "disappointed" about claims of a lack of engagement.

The Church and the archbishop in Tasmania "regularly engages with parishioners and the broader community and will continue to do so."

Tasmanian parishes are encouraged to run at least one session to share views before Australia's 2021 Plenary Council, Perera stresses.

However, Collins says there is some concern that while plenty of lay people are going to the Plenary Council many are church employees.

McIver says in addition the response from the Archbishop to his group's efforts to facilitate the gatherings before the Plenary Council had not "been encouraging".

Source

• ABC News
• Image: ABC