A KEYNOTE speech at a Catholic Church conference by Cathy McGowan has been cancelled after Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart intervened because of her support for same sex marriage.
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The member for Indi was booked last November to give the Mary MacKillop Oration at a Catholic Social Services Victoria conference later this month.
Her appearance was cancelled at Archbishop Hart's instruction on the grounds her views were contradictory to church teachings, replaced by barrister Julian McMahon.
Ms McGowan, who was a co-sponsor of a marriage equality bill introduced into Parliament last year, said the decision to revoke her invitation was “very sad” and seemed at odds with Pope Francis' view the church's doors should be open to discussing issues.
Ms McGowan’s speech was not on marriage, but on the importance of giving the underprivileged and marginalised a voice and access to those in power and she said she was “really disappointed the bishop's intervened”.
“Mary MacKillop was known for her support of regional and rural communities, she's a woman, she got in trouble with the bishops, they called her insubordinate and stopped her speaking, so this decision now with me is really ironic, I reckon.”
Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne communications director Shane Healy said the Archbishop's position on same sex marriage had been clear.
“There was no malice or want to in anyway embarrass Cathy, but he would see with a conference such as this that the keynote speaker should be in line with Catholic teaching on that very important topic,” he said.
“The Catholic Church respects every human being, but in terms of marriage it is our view that is for a man and a woman, while in not any way disrespecting relationships that are part of everyday life.”
But Archbishop Hart's position has not been unbending. He recently asked schools to respect students who wanted to invite a same-sex date to end-of-year formals.