By Sharon Webb

THREE CATHOLIC parishioners from Deloraine have agreed not to approach their former church leader for six months as part of a case resolution in the Launceston Magistrates Court. Gerald, Maureen and Richard Bennett pleaded not guilty to the alleged assault of Father Nicholas Rynne, 38, and Ann Henry, 77, at Deloraine’s Holy Redeemer Church on 30 March 2019. While the three defendants were not required to attend court, their lawyer told magistrate Ken Stanton that the agreement was arrived at after negotiations with Tasmania Police. The defendants signed the written agreement and the case was adjourned. One defendant commented, ‘As far as we’re concerned it’s at an end.’

Tasmania Police were called to attend the minor disturbance in the sacristy of the church after Father Rynne’s final service there. Father Rynne and Ms Henry were allegedly pushed and grabbed during a minor altercation. No one was injured. The court case is the final event in an unhappy time for the Catholic congregations of Deloraine and Westbury, following Father Rynne’s appointment to the parish early last year. Only six weeks into the appointment he had sacked the local board of the Deloraine and Westbury congregations and decreed Mass at Westbury would be in Latin. Parishioners voted with their feet and congregation numbers halved. Following a visit in March by a retired Melbourne bishop to hear distressed parishioners’ complaints, ultra-conservative Father Rynne was removed from the parish. It is believed he is now an assistant priest in Sydney.