The gospel for All Souls' Day spoke of Jesus as the compassionate and loving one, inviting the burdened and laden to come to Him. The readings were ones of joy and celebration. After mass the community was invited for a "cuppa" at the Gathering Place on The Block. It was looking like a great Sunday.

At the Prayers of the Faithful, Clare opened her heart about her grief at the recent passing of her uncle.

A priest of the Canberra/Goulburn Diocese ordained some 60 years ago, he served the people of God in a quiet, unassuming manner. She spoke about the horrific memories of the hardships her father and uncle endured in Ireland, and how they had to live, colonised by another country. Clare was visibly upset as she spoke, and, in the words of Sr Sheila "I had the sense that this was a very sacred moment, even if it did not fit the normal 'criteria of a Prayer of Faithful'. I felt privileged to hear what Clare was saying."

Then "Father" Clesio Mendes interrupted and told Clare to finish. She tried to continue and again Mendes broke in abruptly. Greatly distressed, she left the church in tears.

The congregation was shocked. Mendes had just preached about Jesus' invitation to come to him when laden and burdened, but he demonstrated no ability or inclination to sense the pain with which Clare was struggling, or to respond to it.

The parish priest had treated her so coldly and impassionately that Sheila offered a prayer of the faithful that he learn how to be compassionate as Jesus was. She also spoke after mass, profoundly sad rather than angry, saying that a priest’s priority must surely be the pastoral care of his parishioners, regardless of his feelings about a particular individual. It is his duty to offer solace and comfort to the suffering, not to heap further abuse upon them. She also commented on the need to re-evaluate the training of priests in this vital area of pastoral care.

As the priests started to leave the church, John stood in front of the assistant PP Joe Pelle and asked him to discuss what had happened and where his sense of pastoral care lay. "He became agitated and attempted to brush me aside." recounts John. "I stood there and he was totally beside himself and said he was going to have me up for assault. In fact I had not touched him. At that point Mendes came on the scene and led Pelle out of the church."

John went on to say:

MIRRABOOKA PARISH - The Neocats' Australian "jewel in the crown" in Perth Western Australia St Gerard's parish at Mirrabooka is the site of the Neocatechumenal Way's introduction to Perth (and Australia). Don Sproxton, the parish priest at the time (some 10 years ago) was very active in consolidating the Way in the parish. Sproxton has subsequently been elevated to Auxiliary Bishop. Mirrabooka was strongly promoted as the Neocat jewel in the crown; it was presented to other parishes as a prime example of the Fruits and Joy that could flow from embracing the Way. When the people of St Gerard's heard of the damage being done by the Way in Kelmscott they realised that they were not alone, and wrote the letter reproduced below to the Archbishop to inform him of the true situation in Mirrabooka. The Archbishop subsequently met with some of the parishioners and indicated that he would try and provide a non-Neocat priest. One has indeed been provided but he is there to care for the African population in the parish.

For reasons best known to themselves, the Record has not seen fit to publish the E-mail I sent them some weeks ago. Why am I not surprised? Later I learned that J..., a member of their editorial staff, is a staunch neo-cat in this area, so I guess that explains that.
Still its a blessed relief to celebrate Mass in a neighbouring parish among friends who have preceded us from St. Gerards.

Sproxton is a Neocat and along with Archbishop Hickey promotes the Way. They have planted as parish priest the Neocat Fr Melvin, who has Little by Little tried to implement the Way through stealth, cunning and deceit, creating division, conflict, disharmony and mistrust, and causing several parishioners to leave the parish.

The Neocats have had 3 intakes resulting in a total of around 25 recruits out of 400 parishioners. Some of the 25 are from outside the parish. Two or three families make up the bulk of their followers or worshippers.

The following letter was emailed to the Bishops; we hope you can post it on the website.

Information Update - Good Shepherd Parish

Good Shepherd Parish Mainstream Parishioners

Dear Parishioners,

Firstly, thank you for your ongoing support and interest in our Parish.

As you know Bishop Sproxton visited the Parish on the 26th September after accepting an invitation from us (made on the 28th July). Below is a recap of events.

Unfortunately, His Grace did not address any of the concerns we had raised with him previously on the 28th July at the Cathedral office. As such, the issues remain unresolved and we are left with no other option, other than to seek assistance from elsewhere. What His Grace did confirm was the Neocatechumen Way’s intention is to create Small Communities within the parish.