BRISBANE priest Fr Tim Harris sees both hope and danger ahead for Bali Nine drug smuggler Scott Rush in the wake of last weekend’s executions of the Bali bombers.
Fr Harris, of the young man’s Corinda-Graceville parish, said he saw hope in reports that low-level discussions were taking place between the Australian and Indonesian governments on the fate of Scott and the other Australian drug smugglers on death row.
However, he told The Catholic Leader he was very concerned that the support of the Australian Government and people for the death penalty for the bombers could “come back to bite us”.
“The execution of the Bali bombers now opens up a whole new can of worms,” he said.
“I’m very worried that consistency from the Government on the death penalty has been lacking.
“This could make any appeals on behalf of Scott and the others seem both hypocritical and racist.
“It could thus undermine the Government’s credibility in appealing against the death penalty for these men.”
Fr Harris made the comments after what he described as several “tumultuous weeks” in his life which had climaxed with his visit to Scott in Bali’s Kerobokan Prison “Death Row Tower” on October 21.
Scott’s father Lee Rush and another parishioner Pat Cunningham made the Bali trip with Fr Harris.
Fr Harris said last Sunday with its news of the execution of the Bali bombers had “not been a day of joy” for him.
“I was especially disturbed by statements being used by people interviewed in the media in relation to the execution like ‘kill the bastards’, ‘bring it on’ and so on.
“The thing is, if we don’t temper our feelings, this could blow up in our faces ... Some of us could be responsible for the deaths of our own people.”
Fr Harris said he had been informed by a federal politician that low-level discussions between the Australian and Indonesian governments were being conducted.
Meanwhile, Brisbane archdiocese’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC) last Monday vowed to continue its work to promote the universal abolition of the death penalty.
CJPC executive officer Peter Arndt said the execution of the three Indonesians had done nothing to resolve the problems which caused the killing of 202 people in Bali in 2002, nor to heal the immense pain caused by the terrorist attacks.
Source: catholicleader.com, November 14, 2008
Fr Harris, of the young man’s Corinda-Graceville parish, said he saw hope in reports that low-level discussions were taking place between the Australian and Indonesian governments on the fate of Scott and the other Australian drug smugglers on death row.
However, he told The Catholic Leader he was very concerned that the support of the Australian Government and people for the death penalty for the bombers could “come back to bite us”.
“The execution of the Bali bombers now opens up a whole new can of worms,” he said.
“I’m very worried that consistency from the Government on the death penalty has been lacking.
“This could make any appeals on behalf of Scott and the others seem both hypocritical and racist.
“It could thus undermine the Government’s credibility in appealing against the death penalty for these men.”
Fr Harris made the comments after what he described as several “tumultuous weeks” in his life which had climaxed with his visit to Scott in Bali’s Kerobokan Prison “Death Row Tower” on October 21.
Scott’s father Lee Rush and another parishioner Pat Cunningham made the Bali trip with Fr Harris.
Fr Harris said last Sunday with its news of the execution of the Bali bombers had “not been a day of joy” for him.
“I was especially disturbed by statements being used by people interviewed in the media in relation to the execution like ‘kill the bastards’, ‘bring it on’ and so on.
“The thing is, if we don’t temper our feelings, this could blow up in our faces ... Some of us could be responsible for the deaths of our own people.”
Fr Harris said he had been informed by a federal politician that low-level discussions between the Australian and Indonesian governments were being conducted.
Meanwhile, Brisbane archdiocese’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC) last Monday vowed to continue its work to promote the universal abolition of the death penalty.
CJPC executive officer Peter Arndt said the execution of the three Indonesians had done nothing to resolve the problems which caused the killing of 202 people in Bali in 2002, nor to heal the immense pain caused by the terrorist attacks.
Source: catholicleader.com, November 14, 2008
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