Category Archives: Sharing the meal

Community member Fr John Ford wrote the NCP a note expressing thanks for their motion of
support during their meeting in Queensland last week. Here is their reply:

From: "Peter Fitzgerald"

Dear Fordy,

The NCP Executive met yesterday and your email was tabled. The committee has asked me to pass on our appreciation of your words of thanks. We are conscious of the implications of what’s happening at Redfern for all parishes, and for Indigenous people throughout Australia.

Your message will be posted on our web site and appear in the Members’ Bulletin, which is … Continue reading →

Also at

The withdrawing of $200 a week from St Vincent’s Church, Redfern by the Charitable Works Fund will diminish the ‘honourable contribution’ of the Catholic Church in Redfern, according to Professor Stephen Leeder, professor of Public Health and Community Medicine at Sydney University.

The Charitable Works Fund targeted specific funds for withdrawal from St Vincent’s. The $200 paid for a twice weekly supper for some 300 indigenous people in the area, some of whom are itinerant, and are therefore unable to access other … Continue reading →

Father Gerry Prindiville’s opposition to the community holding its twice-weekly Sharing of the Meal inside the church has been aired elsewhere on this web site. It seems that the the Cathedral has a similar view, for, as revealed on the Encounter program, the Sydney Archdiocese Charitable Works Fund has withdrawn its meagre funding.

Dr Mick Asher, however, is adamant that the Sharing of The Meal must continue. Upon hearing the program he came to St Vincent’s and gave a $1000 cheque to the organisers after the 10:00am Sunday mass. Mick Asher is well known for his work in … Continue reading →