Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Prime Minister's motion in relation to Pope Francis. On behalf of all the people of North Queensland, including the very large Catholic fraternity, I wish him all the best. Pope Francis I was born in Buenos Aires and raised in Buenos Aires. It is a tremendous thing for the church and it is a tremendous thing for Catholics everywhere that you can have a Pope from there.

I was talking to a number of Catholic friends of mine over the weekend. As the Pope was standing up there, I was thinking of him as a young man going to the seminary or as a school boy, and I think that a teacher might have told him that he would never amount to anything or something like that. As he stepped forward to receive the accolades of the church and all the Christians that have followed him, I was wondering what his internal voice had to say to that grade 3 teacher? What did that internal voice actually stand up there and say? Was he wearing inside his heart a little 'I heart me' T-shirt?

The Catholic priests in Townsville are a great bunch. We have Father Rod at Wulguru, Father Mick at St Joseph's the Strand and Father Dave Lancini at Ryan Catholic College are the three I know the best. We also have Bishop Michael Putney. Bishop Michael Putney has recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He is a tremendous bloke. To see these men carry on with their normal duties fills your heart with joy with what it is to be a Christian.

I have spoken to Bishop Michael Putney in relation to the good Samaritan and about the reference to that story in the 'I have been to the mountain top' speech by Dr Martin Luther King Jr, where he says, 'I am fearing no man', 'I fear no evil' and 'I have been to the mountain top and I have seen the Promised Land'. The way the bishop Michael Putney has been confronted with this terrible disease, the way that he handles his pain, the way he handles his illness; he knows the end is there and he has absolutely no fear; he is completely and utterly calm and at peace. It is a true lesson to all of us as to what a Christian should be. He is a great big man, six foot five, and long and skinny. He still walks every day. He is a tremendous human being. He has been incredibly involved with the diocese of North Queensland and all of North Queensland, out as far as Mount Isa and Camooweal and up to the tip of the gulf. He has been to Papua New Guinea. He is a true representative of the church. Pope Francis is lucky to have someone like that doing his missionary work for him in North Queensland and setting the standard for the Catholic Church in North Queensland.

To use an analogy, he has thrown open the windows of the Catholic Church. I am not catholic, but my wife and all my children are. We go to mass as often as we can. But to be in the presence of someone who is facing such mortal fear at such a terrible dark time in his life—to be at that time and still have such fantastic faith. Pope Francis has stood up there and said, 'Please, pray for me'. You have to sit there and think to yourself just how fantastic these men are—the work they do in our community; the work they do for us. If the Pope can do half of what these guys are doing, then by jingo he must be a great bloke. I wish him all the best.

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