A Final Word from Father Pat, by Margaret Paton, Blayney Chronicle, September 19, 2008

A Final Word from Father Pat

By Margaret Paton
Blayney Chronicle
September 19, 2008

http://blayney.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/a-final-word-from-father-pat/1277558.aspx

While the bonfire planned for his farewell was rained out, Father Pat O'Regan was still farewelled with warmth at a barbecue on September 5, on the cusp of his last day as head of Blayney's Catholics.

He has moved on to a new parish, Bathurst, home to about 35,000 Catholics compared to Blayney's 3,000. But at Bathurst, he'll be assistant priest and somewhat closer to his boyhood home of the Perthville general store.

Father Pat O’Regan

Reflecting on his five and a half years in Blayney, he said: "There's a sense of service and creating meaning in our lives and hope. I think I have done it, but it's hard to prove that stuff.

"Sometimes I've only heard afterwards that a sermon has touched someone.

"I once said it was important to get a balanced life and work with your gifts. Fifteen years after I delivered this sermon, I met a woman in the street who said she was inspired by that sermon to use her gifts of singing."

The last census showed 1890 people identified themselves as Catholic in the Blayney district. Father O'Regan said his Saturday evening and Sunday morning masses attracted about the same number of people each week – 90.

One of the highlights of his time here was the World Youth Day event in July despite his parish not having a youth group.

"It represented a lot of things that have come together and it was a lot of group work in the parish," he said.

Another highlight was the July bush dance – a fundraiser.

As for lowlights he said: "It's like a novel never finished. It's all about pastoral care, carrying for people in their deepest needs and about presence, a sense of thanks."

"I've felt I've had great support from the parish here."

Father O'Regan said the Catholic Church in Australia had undergone an expansion stage then consolidation.

"We're in the pruning stage. The history of the Catholic Church in Australia is the history of sectarianism. It was very rare to have a Catholic in any position of power.

"If you were a woman, though, and joined a religious group, you could run a primary school or hospital – that's enormous power. A lot of women were attracted to that.

"Because the sectarian battle is almost over, it's necessary to sing in a different key," he said.

Catholics still constitute a large part of Australia with 600,000 students in Catholic schools and St Vincent de Paul the nation's largest provider of social care.

A priest for 25 years and turning 50 next month, Father O'Regan said the Catholic Church had increasingly tougher protocols to weed out abuse.

Responding to the scandal over sexual abuse allegations at a Bathurst Catholic school, he said: "I hope the truth will come out about the allegations. My reaction is one of sadness and empathy for those involved.

"We are all human, but this is not an excuse. There are so many more protocols – such as for priests' relationships with minors - in the church that the likelihood of this occurring again is reduced.

"There's now a screening process and more professional standards."