In December, the Archbishop of Perth, Timothy Costelloe, removed the meritorious Rev. Michael Rowe from his long-standing role as rector of the Roman Rite Church of St Anne in Belmont/Perth, Australia.
Under Fr Rowe, St Anne's has grown from 30 parishioners in 1996 to 850 today.
In the wake of Traditionis Custodes, Costelloe wanted Reverend Rowe to sign a statement on the liturgy that contained factual errors in order to be allowed to continue at St Anne. Father Rowe was honest enough not to do this and Costelloe punished him for his honesty.
But this was not the end of the story.
On the morning of Tuesday 2 January 2024, Rowe went to St Anne's to collect the last of his personal belongings and liturgical items.
At the church door he met one of his former parishioners who had switched sides, a very furious lady who was escorting Daniel Lynch (Executive Director of the Archbishop's Office), a locksmith and two other maintenance staff from the Archdiocese to the church to change the locks.
The "Church of Dialogue and Synodality" has been caught in flagranti in its attempt to close doors and exclude people.
"It is a matter of basic decency and courtesy that such significant changes as this should be politely and respectfully communicated to me before they are made," wrote Rev Rowe in a statement in January:
"I have been given no notice and have a right to retrieve my personal belongings from the buildings before my access to them is denied."
Around 20 other parishioners were also present. They were appalled by the behaviour of the woman and the actions of the Archdiocese.
The woman insulted Reverend Rowe, claiming that she was speaking for the Latin Mass community, when in fact over 650 parishioners had signed a letter in support of the priest.
Father Rowe then removed his personal belongings and returned the church to the original state it was in on the day it was handed over to him as Rector of St Anne's in 2010.
The items removed were his personal property: "I could not in good conscience leave my liturgical objects in the hands of the Archbishop who, as you must know by now, wants to severely restrict the Traditional Latin Mass."
The priest had every reason to fear that his items would be destroyed, "just as many beautiful statues and liturgical objects were destroyed after Vatican II".
He explains that these items are of no use to Novus Ordo presbyters - "so it is crucial that they are protected".
Since the Francis Church applies the severity of canon law only to Catholics, Reverend Rowe removed the Blessed Sacrament from the church in strict accordance with the norms of canon law.
Francis' Church of Mercy ("Todos, todos, todos") had more nasty things in store for Father Rowe:
- St Anne's bank accounts were closed without informing him.
- Several years earlier, Rowe had become aware of the intention to sell Saint Anne's and use the money to build a presbytery for the nearby Novus Ordo presiders.
- Monsignor Costelloe told Reverend Rowe on 22 December that even if he had signed the untruthful statement, he would still have been removed as Rector.
- No successor to Father Rowe has been appointed, which says everything about the future of Mass in Perth. Source
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