To:    

Rev Father Peter Williams,                                                        Administrator and Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta 

 Father Chris del Rosario,                                                                   Acting parish priest of St Patrick’s Parish.

As you may know, we started an ongoing online petition in June and we have over 1,700 signatures as of this morning. 

We received a response from Bishop Vincent Long with regard to our petition yesterday afternoon and we also posted our petition by registered mail yesterday morning.  Our cover letter contains a summary of the information we know and our demands as laity.

We understand our acting parish priest has removed our petition table and we stepped back and agreed to it.  However, 536 of 1,700 signatories are from sign-up sheets.   We would like to put our update on the bulletin board at the foyer of the chapel and outside the cathedral door.

Canon 212 paragraph 2 and 3 made this the laity’s right to speak up and “make known to the church and to the faithful…our needs, opinion and desires”. Pope Francis said the same during the Synod.  Our very own Bishop Long also encouraged the laity to do so in his plenary 2020 speech.  Archbishop Fisher lately issued several pastoral letters and even a survey about this.

We hope our update will not be removed.

Our aim is to use our rights and obligations to the People of God and to His clergy to strengthen and offer fraternal correction (Ezekiel 33:9) if needed. Both clergy and laity are the Bride of Christ, His Church.  

We pray that our church leaders i.e. the clergy, the shepherds of our Lord Jesus, stay faithful and persevere till the end to lead us in our goal to be with Our Lord Jesus in heaven.

Thank you for your time. 

From servants of Our Lord and Holy Queen of Heaven,

Bernadette Ching on behalf of the petitioners