Melbourne, Australia, Jul 31, 2007 / 08:18 am
Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne has given an undisclosed amount of leave to Reverend Monsignor Geoff Baron for swearing, making sexual remarks, and racially offensive comments directed towards teenage skateboarders.
Though the incident occurred nearly a year ago, it has recently attracted attention after a video of the confrontation surfaced on YouTube, a video sharing website.
According to the Archdiocese of Melbourne, skateboarders have previously caused damage to the steps of the Cathedral and have been a cause for concern because they could harm themselves or others.
The confrontation occurred when the skateboarders refused to leave the property of the Cathedral. The teenagers then began to taunt Msgr. Baron and called him a pedophile. Baron proceeded to use highly inappropriate language including telling one Asian looking member to, “Get back to where you came from you fool. You don't belong in Australia".