Welcome! A bit of background about the Holy Irritant: Originally published in April 2006 this post is republished in 2018 along with other memorabilia to celebrate the preparations for the 2020 Plenary Council of the Catholic Church in Australia. Links have been revised where old material is no longer available.
This is me soon after my birth and most likely the day of my baptism in 1953. Part of Catholic culture at the time of my birth was to name children after great saints This was my parents choice rather than dedicate me to Troy Donahue or even Bing Crosby one of my father's idols. Family lore tells that I was entitled to be called "Alexander" in the custom of my father and grandfather as a first born son. However, Irish Catholicism won the day and I was named in honour of St Anthony (of Padua) and St Gerard Majella. Both these men have been associated with working among the poor and being pretty passionate about life. Pity most of the popular images of such men portray them as insipid blokes with total disinterest in the world around them.
My parents initiated me into a Catholicsm that continues to be a core community of faith and challenge in my life. At the heart of this community are relationships that have nurtured and sustained my questions, my passions and my spirituality. Finding these relationships has been a life long journey from the Irish clericalism that dominated my Primary education through the machismo of life at a Christian Brothers College and the exposure to a global vision in a community of Capuchin Friars. My mentors in faith have included women like Margaret Oats, "Mum" Shirl, Dorothy Day.
The power of symbol in Catholicism has always attracted me and came home to me when my parents renovated our family home some years ago. During my childhood in the era prior to the Vatican Council, the living room in our family home was dominated by the image of the Sacred Heart. The eyes of the image could spot you wherever you were in the room. When the house was renovated in the 70's the picture was moved to a discrete position above the front entrance where it would be the last image seen by visitors leaving the house. This was particularly effective for JW's and Mormons as most visitors used the back door. What is more interesting is that the space in the living room which had been home for the Sacred Heart for almost 25 years was taken up with a mirror. The new image reflected God's eyes in the members of our family.
I make a clear distinction between the faith community of Catholicism and the structural processes which have contributed to much of the alienation of family and friends from the Church. The popular metaphor of "cafeteria Catholicism" where we pick and choose what we need is more appealing than the fixed menu at an exclusive restaurant. which seems to be the preferred model for Church leaders such as Cardinal George Pell . Our history suggests that we have failed to feed the hunger of the diversity of the human family for whom Jesus lived and died.
I have been Catholic across two countries three states, four Archdioceses one religious order, numerous professional associations, groups and everything Catholic!!!I remain "in the Church" because I cannot be elsewhere. I have a right by baptism to membership and participation in this community. Its ambiguity and its weakness are part of my reality and give me a context for personal conversion and commitment to maturity. I remain as a "holy irritant" among those who conserve a stifling patriarchy.
I live my faith as a a gay man challenging the theology and practices that have alienated sexual minorities for too long. My sexuality has been a catalyst for moving into a religious commitment that takes me to the edge of the church. At the edge I find a new centre that offers opportunities and relationships affirming that which the church denies and I find a vision of the Divine which embraces new realities and great dreams for the planet and humanity.
I live my faith as a a gay man challenging the theology and practices that have alienated sexual minorities for too long. My sexuality has been a catalyst for moving into a religious commitment that takes me to the edge of the church. At the edge I find a new centre that offers opportunities and relationships affirming that which the church denies and I find a vision of the Divine which embraces new realities and great dreams for the planet and humanity.
Ss Peter and Paul's Ashby, Geelong West where my parents met and married. The parish where I joined the Altar Servers, the Crusaders of the Blessed Sacrament and the Tennis Club which was the first catholic group I joined that included girls! As a young boy I was member of the choir which in those days was accompanied by a young Roger Heagney who would go on to lead St Francis Church Choir in Melbourne.Peak experiences include:
- Suffering Catholic Trauma at my first communion mass with the anxiety of the host getting stuck in the roof of my mouth
- Endless childhood confessions admitting to sins I could barely pronounce
- Induction into the Guild of St Stephen by the famous Guilford Young at our first National Conference for Altar Boys (as we were in those days !!)in 1964.
- Taking vows of poverty chastity and obedience in a Franciscan community with the Capuchin Friars and then discovering that 2 out of three wasn't a pass.
- Falling in love with Bing Crosby instead of Julie Andrews
Education History
St John's Primary School, North Geelong
St Patrick's Primary School, West Geelong
St Joseph's College Newtown
Catholic Theological Union Hunters Hill
Australian Catholic University McAuley Campus
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