Geoff Kyngdon, assistant to the Bishop of Wollongong, says a ban on swearing by Wollongong construction site workers when on Cathedral land is an appropriate measure to ensure sensitivity is shown to any vulnerable people being ministered to by the Cathedral.
The Illawarra Mercury claimed that union officials are resisting a move to outlaw profanities and blasphemy on the Ibis Hotel construction site, adjacent to St Michael’s Cathedral.
CFMEU state assistant secretary Peter Zaboyak is labeling the action "a breach of civil liberties' and says it is "bordering on the ridiculous'.
Mr Kyngdon says he negotiated the clause in a license agreement between the Anglican Church and construction company St Hilliers so workers could have access to parts of the Cathedral site.
"We have had no problems from the company. The CFMEU made an issue out of this and that's unfortunate," Mr Kyngdon says, adding that the newspaper article is misleading.
"This is not about the hotel construction site but about a license agreement to allow St Hilliers to put site sheds on church land."
Mr Kyngdon explains that the site sheds are just 10 metres from the Cathedral doors.
"We have to protect the sensitivities of those people being ministered to by the Cathedral. This includes children as well as family members grieving at a funeral."
Mr Kyngdon says that throughout the long planning phase for the hotel project, ministry goals have always been the focus.
For full reports on how the hotel development will aid mission wait for an upcoming story on sydneyanglicans.net