I’ve known I was called to priesthood since I was a child. It took me decades to answer that call, largely because I didn’t see anyone who looked like me in church leadership. It just didn’t seem to be a place where wounded healers were welcome - so very, very, white middle class male. And ++Justin’s speech in the HoL just confirmed that. I do feel slightly sorry for his diary secretary, but I hope that individual won’t mind that they come quite some way down in my pity list. Because to be honest, the people I feel sorry for are the victims and survivors of a serial sadist, who abused young men spiritually, physically, and sexually. Those who are watching the ABC minimise their pain, and those who died without seeing justice. Those who were barely mentioned in that little speech. After that, I’m sorry for all the victims and survivors of abuse, who cling on to church because Jesus is beauty, but who are let down again and again and again by his followers. I’m sorry for those who can’t see God because of the evil that has been placed in the way. I’m sorry for the clergy and ministers who cling on with a vision of what the church could and should be, and who increasingly find themselves questioning how long they can be part of this institution. Then, just then, I might find some pity for the diary secretary. I joined the church because in the middle of my own abuse, someone shared with me a vision of who God thought I was, beloved, accepted, belonging. The leader of my church just trivialised that in one of the highest institutions of our land. I’m not going to lie. Feeling a bit broken today.