TWO Queensland members of the Catholic Worker movement, recently arrested for blockading a joint Australian-United States military exercise at Shoalwater Bay north of Rockhampton and released on bail last Monday July 13, have indicated they will continue their protest.
Dayboro man Jim Dowling told The Catholic Leader shortly after his release a decision had been made to accept bail conditions as he and fellow activist Ciaron O’Reilly would be “more use out than behind bars”.
Mr Dowling was arrested with Mr O’Reilly on the morning of Thursday, July 9.
Police at the time said the men, aged 53 and 49, had been arrested for blocking an access road to the exercise Talisman Sabre which is staged every two years at Shoalwater Bay.
On the day of their arrest the men appeared in court, were offered bail and refused to accept it so were placed in Rockhampton City watchhouse.
However, last Monday the Catholic Worker activists decided to accept the bail conditions.
“The conditions only required that we appear in court on August 12,” Mr Dowling said.
Mr Dowling was speaking from a Yeppoon residence which he said was now known as the Martin Luther King House. He said the house was being used as a base for members of the Catholic Action Movement and a Cairns group Peace by Peace.
“Some other house members have already headed to the live-fire area around Shoalwater Bay to take part in protests there,” he said.
“They’ve called themselves the Bonhoeffer Four after Kevin Rudd’s favourite theologian.”
Mr Dowling said both he and Mr O’Reilly had prayed the Rosary each morning in the watchhouse.
Operation Talisman Sabre, designed to build military “inter-operability” between the two countries, involves 16,000 US troops and 8000 Australian troops and runs from July 6-26.
Meanwhile in Brisbane, Josephite Sister Kay McPadden said prayer vigils were continuing for the success of the protests.
“I and other members of the Catholic Worker movement have been holding prayer vigils in Anzac Square on a Friday evening and also at a West End House on a Tuesday night,” she said.
