Introducing Plenary Member Fr Phillip Fleay, Rector of St Charles Seminary, based in Guildford.
Fr Fleay is responsible for the formation of his students, who will one day become the priests who care for the parishioners of the Perth diocese.
Now in his 23rd year of priesthood, Fr Fleay joined the Archdiocese of Perth in 2006 as Cloverdale Parish Priest, serving for the next three years as Mundaring Parish Priest, followed by a term as Applecross Parish Priest, before taking on the challenges of his current role
“Most priests have a fear of this job,” Fr Fleay said. “I have to show the example of prayer and life as a disciple of Jesus Christ.”
“It’s just like being the ‘Parish Priest’ of our Seminary community. In this particular role, I can’t come with any perceptions of a person because they are different to me and the way I see God. I have to be aware to treat them as that unique person who has a sense of God calling them.
“That’s a huge responsibility and I take it very seriously.
As a disciple of Jesus, Fr Fleay is very conscious of getting people to be inclusive, to not just serve people who follow the thinking of Christ but to serve all people, the children of God.
“Sometimes this means going out of our comfort zone into difficult places, help those who are at the fringe of society, people who don’t care about God. We still have to deal with them,” he said.
“As Archbishop Costelloe said recently, we are not there to force people to become like us, we are there to show them what it could be. And I think that’s important. That means as priests, we have to be more flexible in being open to others; to listen, to hear, to have compassion and understanding, particularly with people we sometimes would rather not deal with, and there are a few of those people out there in the world.”
Let’s hear Fr Phillip Fleay’s response to what he thinks the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church in Australia at this time.
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