Sue Williams, Michael Joseph Press, 2013
Father Bob Maguire is inspiring, and he stands apart from the conservative orthodoxy of the Catholic Church, not afraid to call it as it is, shrugging his shoulders at the resistance of the Church to his methods. In 2009, the year of his 75th birthday, he was asked by Church authorities to tender his resignation. He announced publicly that he would leave that decision to his parishioners, but he was forced to retire as parish priest in 2012. Despite the Church’s attempts to shut him up and put him out to pasture, he continues working with community organizations in South Melbourne and he is president of the Fr Bob Maguire Foundation.
‘He is a man of the people, everybody loves him, and he should be here regardless of what the hierarchy thinks’ declared one parishioner (p283). He is popular because he takes the church to the people, and unlike many other priests and bishops, actively engages with the community rather than delivering sermons and dictates from on high. I am not particularly religious, but I did enjoy reading this book.
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