BishopAccountability.org
	Father Bob Maguire Defends His Financial Record Courier Mail September 13, 2009 http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26066513-953,00.html BESIEGED South Melbourne Catholic priest Bob Maguire says he has not spent a penny on himself, nor gone on a holiday in his 36 years at his parish. Fr Maguire, one of Australia's best-known and best-loved priests, is under pressure from Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart to retire on his 75th birthday on Monday. The Archbishop told media on Saturday that Fr Maguire had only kept the parish afloat by selling off assets worth millions of dollars. Fr Maguire said that he went to the Archbishop in 2002 requesting the church pay half the bills, while his parish would cover the other half. "We wanted it to be a loan, not a handout," Fr Maguire said. "We are not a penny in debt - we don't owe anybody any money except the diocese." He said the parish had a lot of "idle assets" in property that could be sold to pay back the diocese. He said his Saints Paul and Peter church was in negotiations with the Victorian State Government to develop its old primary school site, which would finance the parish for the next 150 years. "I haven't spent a penny on myself and I haven't had a holiday in 36 years just to make sure (the parish) kept going," Fr Maguire said. He was also concerned about how his squabble with the archbishop would end. "I'm embarrassed about it - it's a pitiful power struggle and it shouldn't be on the front pages of the paper," he said. "It's upsetting and there's no need for it." Fr Maguire became more widely known after he had a guest role on the SBS television program John Safran vs God and - from November 2005 to January 2006 - he joined Safran as co-host of Speaking in Tongues, also on SBS TV. In his earlier days, Fr Maguire hosted a show on Melbourne radio station 3AW.
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