New priest embraces Kimberley’s crosses

By Mark Reidy
WHEN Fr John Purnell headed into a remote corner of the Diocese of Broome in September, within weeks of his ordination, he knew he would encounter youth suicide, petrol sniffing, alcoholism and domestic violence.

Based in the Aboriginal Community of Balgo, deep in the Kimberley region, Fr John said that his eyes had been opened to the challenges five years earlier during a 12 month stint as a volunteer in the region.
During that period, Fr John said that he believed he had been able to make a positive impact during the many long nights he spent supporting the petrol sniffing gang that roamed the area and he is now looking forward to reigniting his relationships within the Community.
He believes that his call to reach out to the most marginalised and vulnerable was planted in his heart during the many trips he made to India after he had completed high school.
Fr John, who was an Anglican at the time, was inspired by the work of the Jesuits in the slums and leprosy camps throughout India.
It was a call that stayed with him as he studied theology for four years at St John’s Anglican College in Morpeth, NSW and one that eventually drew him back to India.
“I loved my time there so much that I ended up studying at the Jesuit Theological College in Pune for the next four years and completed a Masters in Eastern Philosophy” he said.
It was also where he converted to Catholicism before returning to Australia and joining the Jesuit Novitiate in Sydney.
At this point, Fr John continued to harbour a desire to return to India but eventually came to accept that, as a Jesuit Novice, this would not be possible.
“Because of the continued yearning and call of God for me to do Mission work I decided that the most challenging place in Australia would be in the remote Aboriginal regions in the Kimberley.”
It was then that he completed his 12 months as a volunteer before Bishop Christopher Saunders sent him to Rome for four years formation at the Pontifical Beda College where he also completed another Bachelor’s degree and Master’s, this time in Ecumenism. 
Fr John returned to the Broome Diocese for his Ordination and has hit the ground running since his appointment as Administrative Priest of the Balgo, Mulan and Billiluna Communities.
It took a few days for him to apologetically reply to initial contact from The Record, explaining that he had been dealing with funerals and attempted suicides during the previous week.
It is a far cry from the organised and timetabled existence of college life but Fr John is at peace with his placement and knows that this is where God wants him to be.
“Out here, time is nothing and this is one of the biggest adjustments,” he said.
“I can try to plan the day with appointments and so on but something always interferes with that plan so I have learnt to simply go with the flow.”
It is a philosophy that Fr John has had to weave into his clerical duties as he shares his time between the three Communities, which mainly consist of Indigenous people and a small number of non-Indigenous schoolteachers.
“Travelling between them all takes a lot of effort as the roads are all unsealed and the trucks and rain tear them to pieces.”
He drives to Mulan every Sunday morning for Mass and then on to Billiluna for Sunday night Mass where he stays overnight.
“The following morning I take Scripture classes with the school kids in Billiluna. We have fairly good attendances at the Masses and also for Baptisms and Funerals. However, there are not so many on weekdays,” he said.
Fr John acknowledges that the lifestyle can be very draining but feels that he has been accepted into the local culture because people are able to recognise that he is prepared to work hard for them, especially in his dealings with troubled youth.
He also believes that efforts to incorporate such cultural notions as the Smoking Ceremony and Water Blessing into the Liturgy, as well as the two predominant languages, Kukaja and Walmajari, have contributed to a deepening of his relationships. Learning these languages is another challenge that Fr John is slowly attempting to take on.
It was Fr John’s missionary heart, along with his willingness to embrace the culture and remoteness of the Kimberley region that encouraged Bishop Saunders to appoint him to the Balgo Mission.
When contacted by The Record Bishop Saunders said that he was confident that Fr John would be a wonderful pastor to his people.
“He has already shown his capacity to be humble, to work hard and to be committed to seeing that justice for his people is realised in everyday life”, the Bishop said.
“Being a man of prayer and a person who draws much spiritual sustenance from Scripture, Fr John is well and truly able to be everything God has called him to be”.
Bishop Saunders also said that the Diocese of Broome had been founded specifically for service to the Aboriginal people and that Fr John now belonged to a long and heroic tradition of missionary endeavour.
“He is welcomed as a servant of the Gospel, called to evangelise and minister to a people for whom the Good News has much to offer. Like those who went before him – the Cistercians, the Pallottines, the Salesians and the Benedictines – he will need to be firm in his resolve to preach Christ, to be dedicated and determined in the face of any adversity, to be utterly convinced of his calling to be a faithful priest and to be intense in his love for his people”.
It is a challenge that Fr John has already well and truly embraced.