Father Gerard Dowling is an Australian Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 priest and radio personality.

Residing in Melbourne, Australia, Dowling is a renowned priest who appears on a radio counselling show on Sport 927

Sport 927

Radio Sport National is a Melbourne based radio network dedicated to covering horse and greyhound racing. While much of the station is dedicated to Gallops, Harness and greyhound racing, it does also cover other sports....

. He is also an avid supporter of the North Melbourne Football Club

North Melbourne Football Club

The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...

 and is the author of The North Story, a detailed history of the North Melbourne Football Club, published in 1997.

Father Dowling was the Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne

St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne

St Patrick's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, and seat of its archbishop, currently Denis J. Hart. The building is known internationally as a leading example of the Gothic Revival style of architecture.In 1974 Pope Paul VI...

until 2003 and is known by many for his pastoral outreach. He celebrated his 50th Golden Jubilee in July 2008.