Seven Catholic priests have been honoured among 683 recipients of Order of Australia awards late last month – including a Victorian priest, Fr Kevin Dillon, who has criticised the Church's response to the sexual abuse crisis.
Fr Dillon, the parish priest of Victoria's second-biggest city, Geelong, was honoured on Australia Day, 26 January, for his service to the Catholic Church in Australia, to health and social welfare support services, and to veterans.
Other priests to be honoured included Fr Walter Dethlefs, who served on two commissions into homeless children and youth; Fr Kevin Kerley, a Marist missionary in Papua New Guinea from 1954-2001; and Fr Peter Maher, a Sydney parish priest who has provided weekly Friday night Mass for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Catholics since 1997.
Mr Louis Fleyfel of Melbourne, a leading member of the Maronite Catholic community, was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia – the second-highest rank of the order – while Sr Pauline Coll of Queensland, an advocate for the protection of women and children in the Asia-Pacific, and Sydney lay couple Kevin and June Lupton, long-time parishioners of St Joseph's Rosebery in Sydney, who have volunteered in a number of roles in the parish including as parish secretary and reading at Mass, were among other Catholics honoured.
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