Save the Latin Mass at St Anne's Perth, Australia

Help save the Latin Mass and St Anne’s Church, in Perth, Australia! There is an ongoing legal battle in the Courts and we need your help to ensure the Latin Mass and Catholic Tradition survives and continues to thrive in Perth.

 

History

 

In 1940 the Parish of Belmont was established in the Archdiocese of Perth. In 1961 the Archbishop entrusted the pastoral care of Belmont Parish to the Marist Fathers who were based in the neighbouring parish of Redcliffe in Perth. From 2007, all Masses ceased in St Anne's Church Belmont , and the pastoral care of both of these parishes was then under the Parish Priest of the Parish of Cloverdale.

 

With St Anne's Church being disused,  in 2008, the parish of Cloverdale ceded responsibility of St Anne's church and its accompanying land and buildings back to the Archdiocese of Perth.

 

In 2008 and 2009, the Archbishop of Perth, +Barry James Hickey, allocated the disused church of St Anne and its accompanying land and buildings to the Latin Mass Community in the Archdiocese of Perth. In 2008, the Archbishop expressed in writing that St Anne’s was to be the “permanent location” for the Latin Mass, and he indicated his intention to create the Latin Mass Community attached to St Anne’s Belmont as a ‘Quasi-Parish’ under the code of Canon Law. Furthermore, the Archbishop announced his intention to appoint Fr Michael Rowe, long time chaplain for the Latin Mass in the Archdiocese of Perth as the parish priest of the Quasi-Parish based at St Anne's.

 

In 2017 the Parish Priest of Cloverdale was also formally appointed the Parish Priest of the territorial novus ordo parish of Belmont.

 

After being given St Anne's as their permanent home, Fr Rowe and the Latin Mass Community oversaw significant renovation works on the church and other buildings, partially paid for by the Archdiocese and partially paid for by the Latin Mass Community themselves. The Latin Mass Community donated and expended their own funds only because they believed they had been given a new permanent home in St Anne’s.

 

In 2009, the Latin Mass Community moved to their permanent location at St Anne’s and have had exclusive use of the church and other buildings located there ever since. Since then, the Latin Mass Community has paid virtually all bills and expenses associated with the land and property at St Anne's and its ongoing use and maintenance. They have also paid for significant improvements to the property in that time. In July 2009, the Archbishop of Perth wrote to Fr Rowe formally appointing him as Rector of St Anne’s Church. In that letter the Archbishop gave Fr Rowe all the usual faculties relevant to a parish priest (or quasi-parish priest) for ministry to the Latin Mass Community within the Archdiocese of Perth independent from any territorial parish.

 

Over the last fourteen years, ever since Archbishop Hickey gave St Anne’s to the Latin Mass Community and appointed Fr Rowe its Rector; Fr Rowe and the Latin Mass Community of Perth have spent significant sums of their own money on improving the Church, land and other buildings like the presbytery (priest's house), hall and office buildings. Some significant improvements include the installation of an historic  pipe organ, a pulpit, installation of the high altar, stations of the cross, air conditioning in the church, extensions to the church hall, installation of a new kitchen area, etc. In total, the Latin Mass Community have expended close to $1,000,000 in their own funds and/or professional skills and labour of skilled professional parishioners on improving the land and buildings. The Latin Mass Community did this because they believed the Archdiocese had given St Anne's and its associated land to them for their exclusive use as their permanent home.

 

After the retirement of Archbishop Hickey, his successor, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe in 2018 had a meeting on the site of St Anne's church with the Archdiocesan Vicar General, archdiocesan employees and the parish priest of Cloverdale. Fr Rowe as Rector was not informed, nor invited to the meeting on St Anne's property but only found out about it afterwards. In October 2018, by formal decree, Archbishop costelloe merged three former territorial parishes (including the Parish of Belmont) in which St Anne’s Church happens to be located.

 

The territorial merger had the effect of appropriately managing the pastoral care of the parishioners of the Belmont territorial parish by merging it with the Cloverdale Parish. However, in January 2019, Archbishop Costelloe wrote to Fr Rowe expressing the view that the merger resulted in the newly merged territorial parish owning the land and property at St Anne's. This is despite the fact that the parish of Belmont had previously ceded responsibility for St Anne’s Church back to Archdiocese, and then  the Archdiocese had then given St Anne’s to the Latin Mass Community as their permanent location in 2008 and established it as a quasi-parish with its own priest. The mertger decree and the Archbishop's view of the ownership of St Anne's also ignores the fact that the Latin Mass Community and its Rector has spent significant amounts of money and time improving and maintaining the property. Archbishop Costelloe’s 2019 letter to Fr Rowe expects the Latin Mass Community to give back ownership to the Cloverdale Parish. Worse than losing proprietary rights over St Anne's is the fact that the parish of Cloverdale now wants to sell either part or all of the property at St Anne’s to build a new presbytery (house) for the clergy of the Cloverdale parish to live in. This explains the October 2018  meeting on site with Archbishop and parish priest of Cloverdale which Fr Rowe and his community knew nothing about.

 

In the proposed sale of some or all of St Anne's land (for the financial benefit wholly of the Cloverdale Novus Ordo Parish), the Latin Mass Community in Perth would find themselves homeless and the Archdiocese has suggested that they have no other location to provide them.

 

Resolution Attempts

 

Despite the impending adversity facing his community, Fr Rowe as Rector of St Anne's and priest responsible for the Latin Mass Community has been a loyal son of the Church. He has reached out numerous times to Archbishop Costelloe as a spiritual father and implored him not to abandon the flock entrusted to his care.

 

Throughout all of the calendar year 2019, Fr Rowe wrote numerous letters to the Archbishop seeking an opportunity to meet him and discuss these issues to find a resolution. In addition, Fr Rowe has made repeated invitations to Archbishop Costelloe to make a pastoral visit to St Anne's and meet the community. However, since Archbishop Costelloe's appointment as Archbishop of Perth in 2012, he has not once made a pastoral visit to the Latin Mass Community in Perth. Instead, he allows his predecessor, as Emeritus Archbishop, to exercise episcopal ministry to the Latin Mass Community for confirmations and any other pastoral need for a bishop.

 

Apart from Fr Rowe meeting with the Auxiliary Bishop of Perth, the Archbishop has not met with Fr Rowe or responded to any of his letters or invitations to meet and attempt to resolve these issues nor has the Archbishop presented any alternitve locations for the Latin Mass Community.

 

Faced with a wall of silence from the Archbishop and the pending sale of land at St Anne's and the lack of a suitable alternative location for the community, Fr Rowe had no option but to seek  legal recourse.

 

Canon Law Process

 

After seeking advice from canon lawyers, Fr Rowe first attempted to have his problems resolved under the Church's internal canon law processes.

 

Fr Rowe made a canonical appeal to the Archbishop for recourse which was denied him. In the next steps, Fr Rowe appealed to the Vatican's Congregation for Clergy but regrettably, the Vatican refused to intervene and assist Fr Rowe and the Latin Mass Community on a technicality of canon law: they were out of time (with a 10 day time limit) to make their appeal to the Vatican.

 

Since the Church and her internal processes have failed Fr Rowe and denied justice to the Latin Mass Community, Fr Rowe has had no choice but to take this dispute over property rights legal and approach the civil court system.

 

Legal Battle

 

In December 2019, after obtaining legal advice, Fr Rowe filed a claim with the Supreme Court of Western Australia after he had filed a caveat with the Land Registry in the state of WA (Landgate) to protect the land.

 

At all stages in the civil legal process, the Archbishop has hired a legal team consisting of a law firm aided by two barristers (junior counsel and senior counsel) who have sought to brush the entire matter aside and say something to the effect of: this is an internal church matter, it is to do with canon law not civil law and it is none of this court's business.

 

In January 2021, the Supreme Court agreed with the Archbishop's lawyers arguments that this is an internal church matter and decided that Fr Rowe had no right to bring his claim and they dismissed his claim outright. This is despite the fact the claim filed in the civil court is written according to the principles of civil law and is fundamentally a claim of rights over property - a civil law matter.

 

Fr Rowe appealed this decision to the Western Australian Court of Appeal and in early March 2022 the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed most of Fr Rowe's grounds of appeal without even addressing them and agreed that the primary judge on the first occasion got it right, Fr Rowe has no right to make a claim because its an internal church matter, not a matter for civil courts. Among their findings was the fact that because the 'quasi-parish' is the entity with ownership at canon law not Fr Rowe himself that Fr Rowe has no right tobring the claim, and neither does the quasi-parish since that entity is not recognised in civil law. 

We believe that the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal in Western Australia have overlooked fundamental legal principles and precedents in the common law and very likely made errors in making their decision. In our view, the WA Court of Appela decision confuses the legal issues and ignores countless precendents in Courts throughout other Australian States like NSW, Queensland, Victoria, other High Court Cases, which would be binding of the WA Court of Appeal and influential decisions in international cases in the Supreme Courts of the UK and Canada.

 

Final Appeal

 

Fr Rowe has one final avenue of appeal that may be open to him: to appeal to the High Court of Australia for special leave for them to hear the case.

 

The High Court of Australia is the final Court and decision making body for all legal disputes in Australia and their decision is final and binding.

 

Fr Rowe must file with the High Court his special leave appeal application within 28 days (by 1 April 2022).

 

In recent history, we recall that Cardinal George Pell was wrongly accused of sexual abuse of minors and was incorrectly convicted. As a result, Cardinal Pell spent more than a year in prison and was denied justice by both the original trial judge and the Victorian Court of Appeal before the High Court of Australia unanimously (7 judges to nil) quashed his conviction and let him go free.

 

Cardinal Pell's case is an example to all of us that the justice system here in Australia is far from perfect and can get it wrong. We believe Fr Rowe and the Latin Mass Community of Perth's case is exactly one of those cases.

 

How is it just for the Court of Appeal in WA to dismiss Fr Rowe's appeal without addressing all of his grounds of appeal? How is it right and just for the Court of Appeal to uphold a decision that in effect says everyone in Australia has property rights which the Court will intervene to protect UNLESS you happen to be a Catholic Priest and the Latin Mass Community, in which case you have no rights to bring a claim and the Court doesn't care and will not intervene?

 

We believe Fr Rowe has reasonable chances of obtaining justice from the High Court of Australia just like Cardinal Pell did. The only obstacle in Fr Rowe's way is the expense of taking a legal battle on appeal again to the highest Court in Australia.

 

Fr Rowe and the Latin Mass Community of Perth need your support and donations to help him to able to afford his legal representation to take the fight to the High Court.

 

Save Catholic Tradition & the Latin Mass in Perth

 

We respectfully ask for your prayers in this matter. Ultimately, while the legal battle is about civil law property rights, the fundamental battle against the unjust actions of the Archbishop of Perth is about preserving Catholic Tradition and keeping the Latin Mass in Perth.

 

The Latin Mass is a thriving community in Perth is one of the busiest and fastest growing parishes in the whole Archdiocese, if not the busiest.

 

Please help with donations towards this worthy cause, time of the essence with time limit for the appeal to the High Court.

 

Funds Received & Refunds Given

 

Any donations graciously received can be done so either anonymously or named.

To ensure proper use of funds for the stated purpose, the funds raised will be deposited directly into the Trust Account of the law firm responsible for Fr Michael Rowe and the Latin Mass Community's case. Such funds are held on trust exclusively for the St Anne's property dispute.

By contacting the organiser of this page (the law firm responsible), any donor who wishes to be acknowledged and considered for a  refund in the event Fr Rowe's matter goes before the High Court and succeeds with costs awarded in his favour can do so. Further, in the event this matter for whatever reason may settle (or the legal fees are less than the amount of donations received) then the law firm responsible for this matter are in a position to provide a refund (or proportion of a refund depending on the percentage of funds left over) to the donors who wish to contact the organiser of this page and instruct they would like a partial refund. In the event funds are left over and refund requests are not received, such funds will still be given to the benefit of the St Anne's Latin Mass Community in Perth and be used towards ongoing improvements and upkeep of St Anne's Church and property.

 

Wishing you God's abundant Blessings.