Ted Kennedy (priest) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Early life and ordination

Ted Kennedy was known throughout Australia as the priest of St Vincent’s Roman Catholic church in the Sydney inner-city suburb of Redfern

Redfern, New South Wales

Redfern is an inner-city suburb of Sydney. Redfern is 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney...

. He arrived there in 1971, appointed to head a team ministry by the then Archbishop of Sydney James Freeman (later Cardinal). He served also as presbyter

Presbyter

Presbyter in the New Testament refers to a leader in local Christian congregations, then a synonym of episkopos...

in Redfern continuously under Archbishops Edward Bede Clancy and George Pell

George Pell

George Pell AC is an Australian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the eighth and current Archbishop of Sydney, serving since 2001. He previously served as auxiliary bishop and archbishop of the Archdiocese of Melbourne...

. This remains unusual by contemporary diocesan standards which limit the duration of tenure.

Work with aboriginals

The area has a significant Aboriginal

Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....

population, and Kennedy identified with the many social problems and challenges the Aboriginal community faced. He worked to bring justice for Aboriginal Australians. His presbytery and church community became a place of refuge for Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians

travelling from all parts of the nation. He befriended Aboriginal activist Mum (Shirl) Smith

Mum (Shirl) Smith

Shirley Smith , better known as Mum Shirl, was a prominent Aboriginal Australian and activist committed to justice and welfare of Aboriginal Australians...

, and worked closely with her until she died in 1998.

Personal poverty and commitment

His example of personal poverty and commitment influenced other individuals and organisations. In 1975 Frank Brennan S.J. worked at Redfern with Ted, and thus began a lifelong connection and influence. While he was priest at Redfern, South Sydney Uniting Church donated property to the Black Theatre

Black theatre

Black theatre or black theater may refer to:* Black light theatre* Black Theatre * The African-American theatre community, especially in New York City...

and the Sisters of Mercy

Sisters of Mercy

The Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....

gave property to the Redfern Aboriginal community in 1978 in which the Aboriginal Medical Service was established. The service now provides medical, dental, aged care, drug and alcohol services to around 55,000 patients each year.

Activism in conflict with Church hierarchy

Kennedy was a controversial figure, not all Catholics or all Australians supported his radical views, and he was often in conflict with the Church hierarchy for his activism – though in 2001 his work received direct support from Pope John Paul II with the reception of a letter to Dr Naomi Mayers, CEO of the Aboriginal Medical Service supporting their work at the Aboriginal medical centre. On 22 November 2001, the Pope issued in Rome the document Ecclesia in Oceania, in which he referred to "the shameful injustices done to indigenous peoples in Oceania" and to the "special case" of the "Australian Aborigines, whose culture struggles to survive".

Role of conscience

He wrote his book Who is Worthy, The role of conscience in restoring hope to the Church in response to controversy in the Archdiocese of Sydney over the proper role of individual conscience, a debate triggered through comments by Cardinal George Pell

George Pell

, who had argued that the "doctrine of the primacy conscience

Conscience

Conscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong. Moral judgement may derive from values or norms...

should be quietly dropped" largely because of his concerns that too many liberties were being taken in a society that unduly emphasised the philosophy of individualism

Individualism

Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses "the moral worth of the individual". Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so value independence and self-reliance while opposing most external interference upon one's own...

. Kennedy disagreed that this was the central problem. Rather (and perhaps unusually for a priest) Kennedy was very focussed on what he considered was the chief problem of clericalism

Clericalism

Clericalism is the application of the formal, church-based, leadership or opinion of ordained clergy in matters of either the church or broader political and sociocultural import...

Reparation and reconciliation

Kennedy promoted reparation and reconciliation with Indigenous Australians. Through his personal contacts, he established networks of influence through the local community, and through the indigenous communities of the nation. Kennedy preached and taught against what he perceived as exclusion and marginalisation of all kinds, whether because of race, income or sexual orientation, and progressive Catholics from all over Sydney travelled to Redfern weekly to be part of the parish community Kennedy led.

Sydney parishes

Ted's national connections and influence were not confined to Indigenous activism. Before he went to Redfern, he worked in a number of Sydney parishes, and he was also chaplain to the University of Sydney

University of Sydney

The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...

. He befriended, influenced and introduced artists and intellectuals such as Australian poet James McAuley

James McAuley

James Phillip McAuley was an Australian academic, poet, journalist, literary critic and a prominent convert to Roman Catholicism.-Life and career:...

and musician Richard Connolly

Richard Connolly

Richard Connolly is an Australian musician, composer and former broadcaster for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation . His published and performed works allow him to be counted as among Australia's most prolific composers of Roman Catholic church music particularly with regard to the hymns he...

Catholic hymnody

Partly through Ted’s introduction and encouragement Connolly and McAuley became the most significant duo creating Australian Catholic hymn

Hymn

A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...

ody to date. Ted Kennedy asked Richard Connolly to consider composing some Australian hymns to sing at various parts of the mass. Thus began one of the most successful hymn-making teams of the twentieth century, McAuley and Connolly.

In 1960 their work would anchor the Living Parish hymnbook, edited by Tony Newman and published by a group round Roger Pryke, which would sell one million copies over the next decade, enabling congregations to sing worthy hymns in an Australian voice.
Kennedy also collaborated in partnership with Fr Roger Pryke to produce the important ‘Living Parish’ hymn book for Australian Catholics.

2001 award

In 2001 Ted Kennedy was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia

Order of Australia

The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...

for his service to the Aboriginal community.

External links

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