If Bishop Harry Kennedy (pictured) were alive today he would be 97 years old. He became a bishop 41 years ago and retired 21 years ago. Chances are that, like others of his fellow bishops, he was a man of his times.
Thirty-one years ago he ordained a new priest, 'Fr F', and sent him to Moree parish in the Armidale Diocese. Two and a half years later, Kennedy abruptly terminated Fr F's appointment and sent him on 'what was euphemistically called 'sick leave'' to use the language of retired judge Antony Whitlam who has conducted a thorough inquiry into the case of Fr F. A psychologist gave him the 'all clear' for continued ministry.
Three years after the termination of Fr F's Moree appointment, he was arrested and charged with serious sexual offences against a boy, Damien Jurd, who had been an altar boy for Fr F in Moree. The magistrate improperly dismissed the charges. Fr F continued to serve as a priest.
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