BENTHAM'S Catholic priest, Father Pat Smythe, left on Monday for a parish in Leeds.

Father Pat came to Bentham five years ago, and during his time at St Boniface's Church he became deeply involved in the formation and growth of the town's Local Action for Justice and Peace Group.

He has also used his stay in a relatively quiet parish to complete his studies for an MA, and to begin and research for a PhD into the responses of the churches to the situation in East Timor.

East Timor was annexed by Indonesia against the wishes of her people, after colonial power Portugal pulled out. Since then a third of the population has died at the hands of the Indonesian military.

Father Pat has become increasingly concerned about the situation in East Timor, and in the course of his studies, which have involved visits to all the countries involved, he has been arrested and discovered both shocking and heart warming aspects to the plight of the East Timorese.

"I was arrested because I was at a clandestine meeting in the mountains in West Papua. I was followed afterwards. The people who were hosting me were also checked out.

"When I was arrested I did wonder if I was going to get a caution, or if I would just disappear. I was scared," said Father Pat, who is looking forward to bringing the plight of East Timor to wider attention in his new parish.

"I hope to finish my PhD in January 2000. I have one more country to visit, America," he said.

Father Pat's interest in the predicaments of people around the world have shone through in the work of the Justice and Peace group, which organised coachloads of people from Craven to go to the G8 Conference in Birmingham earlier in the year to lobby for the abolition of Third World debt. It has also focused on other issues.

Father Pat, who enjoys mountain biking, walking and running, has thoroughly enjoyed his time in Bentham, which he has found very friendly and welcoming.

He has also been heavily involved in ecumenical links in the town through Churches Together in Bentham.

He is now looking forward to new challenges in Rothwell.

"I will miss Bentham and the people and the things I have been involved in, but I must be positive because in Leeds is the work for me to do," he said.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.