The case of Linda Walsh

David Marr has an article in today's newspaper about the case of Linda Walsh, who was told she could not be President of the Society's Migrant and Refugee Centre because she is not a Catholic. She then sued the Society and has just been awarded damages, as I understand it, because it is not written down anywhere that you have to be a Catholic to be in a controlling position in the Society.

David Marr is very upset that she could not be the President of the migrant and refugee centre. He talks about the "harsh but forgiving gaze of those women on the counter" at the local StVdP shop, and at the end says:
"Maybe the faithful will strip their cupboards of unused wedding presents, books and LPs, suits, cufflinks, dresses, hideous cut glass, complete sets of National Geographic and all the Tupperware they can spare for the cause. Others may prefer to see their old treasures used as landfill rather than fund an operation like this."

There are a couple of other articles about this case

here

and

here

Personally, I don't find it at all strange that an organisation supported by the Catholic Church and given large amounts of money by the members of the Church would ask that it be run by Catholics. I find it a little strange that she was even appointed a conference president, let alone a manager of a section of the Society.

One fact from the other articles that David Marr neglects to mention is that Linda Walsh was "one of the 5,000 non-Catholics in the society's 8,000-strong volunteer force in Queensland".  So the Society is not quite as narrow minded as Marr's article might suggest.

David Marr also says that the options given to Linda Walsh were:
"In January 2004 an ultimatum was delivered by the society's diocesan president for Gold Coast, Peter Richards. She had until June to become a Catholic, resign her position or leave the society."
From the other articles I read that the options were:
"in 2004, the society gave Ms Walsh three options - become a Catholic, resign her position and stay only as a member, or leave the society."

So David Marr or his editor omitted the words "and stay only as a member" from his selective quote.  why did he feel inclined to leave out those words, since Marr's version leaves the incorrect impression that Linda Walsh had to leave the St Vincent de Paul society even as a member.