Crookwell stained glass window vote stalls

Chair of St Mary’s Catholic Church finance committee, Paul Culhane, has labelled the weekend vote at Masses as a “farce.”

Parishioners were deciding whether to keep or sell the window, depicting the Good Shepherd, purchased for $150,000 by former parish priest Father Peter Murphy. He had intended installing it at the front of the church, replacing one damaged by fire in 1958, and since boarded up.

The parish is divided, with some saying Fr Murphy’s wishes must be honoured. Others argued the window should be sold, with money put into restoration needs.

Mr Culhane said most people who voted felt it was not “representative.”

“We didn’t control how many people times people voted and there were small children voting who didn’t understand what was being asked,” he said.

People got most upset about this...It is divisive and this won’t help but it is better than proceeding with something quite farcical.”

While a large number attended weekend Masses, many didn’t know the vote was being held, he said.

Mr Culhane told The Post the Parish tried to hold the vote in “good faith” but it was simply not possible.

Consequently, the finance committee decided not to count the votes but to meet next week with the Parish Council to decide how best to proceed. This will also be done in consultation with Mary Queen of Apostles Parish Priest Fr Dermid McDermott.

Mr Culhane said a more “controlled” vote could still happen but this was up to the committees. He speculated that the Archbishop might also decide the matter.

The Parish has received a $150,000 offer to purchase the Gothic style German window, which originally came from a Coolac church. The party had paid a deposit but there was no binding agreement, Father McDermott said.

Installation at St Mary’s is estimated to cost $50,000.

But Mr Culhane believed an engineering opinion to establish whether the window could be installed was necessary.

“There were windows in the church in the 1950s when fire destroyed part of the building and they were not replaced for practical reasons,” he said.

“My concern is that an engineer would say we can’t install it unless there’s major reinforcement of the roof.”

Moreover, the church had other pressing needs such as a presbytery “riddled with white ants,” which was being renovated for visiting priests. A February storm also damaged the rear of the presbytery, the cost of which was only partly covered by insurance.