Last week in the country town of Myrtleford, two Anglican women, one of whom is a gay Anglican ‘priestess’ joined the Catholic priest in the sanctuary during a public Novus Ordo Mass.

The Mass, part of the town’s annual Italian Festival, was offered in the grounds of St. Mary’s Church on a temporary stage and was dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua. When asked by a stunned attendee why the priestesses were near the altar during Mass, a local (who happened to be an ex-nun) stated that “we do everything together here in Myrtleford”!

The eye-witness, a faithful Catholic, was shocked to see the two women consuming the Sacred Host, despite belonging to the Anglican faith. Although neither woman played an active role in the Mass, the ‘priestess’ was given a chalice to hold while Holy Communion was being distributed. She also addressed the crowd after Mass was finished.

According to the eye-witness, “One of them was trying to touch everything and finally got her hands on the incense. The priest cursed before reading the Gospel. He said “mannaggia miseria!” (This means ‘damn it’ in Italian).

The ‘priestess’ is Moira Evers, a known lesbian and LGBTQ activist. In an article posted when she was appointed parish priestess in Myrtleford, Evers said she wanted people to ‘see the church as a place of safety.’

Evers is controversial even within the Anglican church because of her involvement with a same-sex advocacy group who expressed support for a Satanic Mass. There are also reports of members of her former congregation at Buderim leaving the parish because of her pro-LGBTQ stance.

The parish priest of St. Mary’s Catholic Church is Fr. Tony Shallue. There seems little hope of him being disciplined over the liturgical abuse as St. Mary’s is located in the Diocese of Sandhurst, which is overseen by Bishop Shane Mackinley. This is the same bishop who is notoriously allowing a three-month exhibition of a pagan idol related to witchcraft to remain in Bendigo’s Sacred Heart Cathedral, despite massive pushback from Catholic clergy and the faithful.