The Red-Capped Prophet

Saw this on Enough Rope (ABC) on Monday night. I really, really, liked this exchange between Denton and Father Bob Maguire... (emphases are mine)

"ANDREW DENTON: I've always imagined that one of the most difficult things for a priest is when they're the new priest on the block, in a new parish, starting over. How do you make yourself known, find a flock?

FATHER BOB MAGUIRE: I went on the streets. You see, that's when I decided that I was obviously going to have to work more with people who had nothing to do with church. That's when we started discovering the terrible damage that drugs had done. Because other places I'd been in, suburban parishes, it was rare that even one of the kids was a drunk. But four years later a whole generation had been obliterated. By the 80s I lost - I'm taking it personally because I want to - I lost 40 local young men under the age of 20.

ANDREW DENTON: ...40, or more, people you know personally have died.

FATHER BOB MAGUIRE: Yes.

ANDREW DENTON: This gets back to a question of faith. Does that test your faith? Do you wonder what God wants?

FATHER BOB MAGUIRE: I'm not worried about God in this because, you see, God handed all this over to us. I'm worried about us.

ANDREW DENTON: Your faith is never tested?

FATHER BOB MAGUIRE: No, not about God. God's alright. Once he's got - look, once he...

ANDREW DENTON: Why is he letting kids die?

FATHER BOB MAGUIRE: It's got nothing to do with him letting kids die. It's you and me that let kids die. They die while we're sleeping. It's got nothing to do with God. I mean, once he got up onto that cross and was executed, that's good enough for me. His father got a hell of a fright because he thought this son was going to be a success, and have a look at it."