Comments on: What’s right and wrong, not what’s expedient

By: Pat Curley

Pat Curley — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:30:45 +0000

I just read that Senator Barnaby Joyce wants to ship the Sri Lankan refugess back to Sri lanka!!!!!!!! Which Gospel is he reading????? How long will it take his Archbishop in Brisbane to crticise him for such offensive, divisive and callous remarks?? Wher is Pell? Where is jensen?? Where are all the toher professional religious leaders??? Former Pm Howard is gloating in the wings about his asylum seeker “solution”…it’s enough to make a decent person sick!

By: meg

meg — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:41:26 +0000

I’m with Pat!

By: Pat Curley

Pat Curley — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:34:24 +0000

Yes it’s sad that religious leaders seem to be muzzled….we need strong, vocal and compassionate guidance as a nation…our religion is supposed to assist in that task…Seems like we haven’t grown as a nation when a few boatloads of “others” head our way the politicians try to outdo each other in knee jerk reactions…Hockey says the Aussie boat is a 3 star hotel…and he’s probably right compared to a detention camp in Indonesia….but that doesn’t help matters….Steven Smith says that the asylum seekers cannot choose their destination country…..Why not? Rudd is excelling in doublespeak and Turnbull is talking it up hard while the feral conservatives reassert their inhuman and discredited policies on this matter….Reading your latest activities makes my head spin when I think that the powers want you out of there Fr Bob…..your reports on what is happening among your tribe are of far more value than the glossy brohures/reports published by “charities”…..grass roots love, compassion and action is best….bless you in your labours and bless all the tribe too…

By: Kimberley McGuinness-Kanages

Kimberley McGuinness-Kanages — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:13:41 +0000

Well said Father Bob!

I enjoy your blog.

My husband is a Jaffna Tamil, and we have family back home in Sri Lanka. Naturall it’s very hard for us both right now to listen to the news or public opinion regarding the plight of these poor people fleeing Jaffna.

The ignorance, prejudice and arrogance of some in this country astounds me at times. The vast majority of us are all ‘boat people’ yet the history in the past 200 years is often forgotten.

The Tamils of Jaffna have lived there for thousands of years so the claims to have these people ‘return’ to Tamil Nadu in India is proposterous. Their home is Jaffna.

What has happened to our ‘fair go’ attitude and our compassion for those wanting to come and embrace Australia? I would rather think it has more to do with media and liberal party brainwashing rather than inherent racism or prejudice against foreigners.

We are all more than happy to open our hearts and pockets to raise money for those suffering overseas, yet when they want to start life anew here it seems a different story. What are we protecting? Perhaps we are all so insecure about what makes us ‘Australian’ that we feel the need to object to foreigners wanting to be ‘Australian’ as well. As long as we care for the poor souls from abroad, and not living next door to us sending their kids to the same school as our kids, then we are more than happy to care for and shell out our cash for their charitable needs.

Anyway, enough of my rant.

P.S. Make sure you go back to Scotland!!! Make time for it.
My mother has never returned to her fathers hometown of Kelso and she deeply regrets this. She may never have the chance! So make sure you go if you have the chance!