Before being sacked by Pope Benedict over ongoing doctrinal issues, Morris, formally admitted Catholic Church liability, opening the door to a large compensation payout to 13 schoolgirls.

The Brisbane hearing is the first time the Royal Commission will be held outside Sydney

High on the Commission's agenda is an investigation into a pedophile teacher's continued access to primary school children despite Catholic education authorities knowing he was a risk.

The hearing at the Brisbane Magistrates Court will inquire into the response of the Catholic Education Office, Diocese of Toowoomba, to allegations of child sexual abuse against teacher Gerard Vincent Byrnes at St Saviour's Primary School in 2007.

Byrnes was jailed for 10 years in 2010 after pleading guilty to 33 counts of indecent dealing with children under the age of 12, 10 counts of rape and one count of maintaining a sexual relationship with a child under 12.

Source

• Canberra Times

The group is led by Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, who retired as auxiliary bishop of Sydney in 2004, aged 66, partly because of lack of recognition of the sexual abuse problem in the Church.

He is supported by Bishop Pat Power, retired bishop of Canberra and Goulburn, and Bishop Bill Morris, who was removed from his office as bishop of Toowoomba by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011.

Bishop Robinson, who launched the Towards Healing protocol in Australia and headed the Australian bishops' professional standards committee, has just launched a new book entitled For Christ's Sake: End Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church … for Good.

He says he wants a "Catholic spring" revolution, a people-power movement to force the Vatican to tackle the abuse crisis at its source.

"There has been so much abuse that it's impossible to blame just the individuals — we blame them too, of course — but it's impossible to limit ourselves to that," he said.

"We have to look at any systemic causes of the abuse. We have to take a really hard look at the Church itself and see what we can find there in the way of causes, factors which have in any way contributed to abuse."

Bishop Robinson, who was abused as a child, said millions of good Catholics have been "deeply disillusioned, both by the revelations of widespread abuse and even more by what they have perceived as the defensive, uncaring and unchristian response on the part of many who have authority in the Church and claim to speak in God's name.

"Catholic people all over the world are sick of the scandal and this is a chance for them to speak up and join a collective voice that will be heard in Rome."

Sources:

The Australian

ABC News

Sydney Morning Herald

Image: Daily Telegraph

Three-quarters the size of the United States, Australia is mainly uninhabited except along its coastline. While the U.S. shelters close to 313 million people, latest Australian census statistics report only 22 million persons on the continent's nearly 3 million square miles.

Australia's Christians — mainly descendants of 18th-century British settlers and Irish convicts, and of later émigrés from Germany and Italy — comprise 61 percent of the population. Australia's newest immigrants continue arriving from the United Kingdom and Italy, but also from New Zealand, China, India, Vietnam and the Phillippines. Read more

Sources

• Phyllis Zagano in National Catholic Reporter
• Image: Panoramio

Phyllis Zagano is a Catholic scholar and lecturer on contemporary spirituality and women's issues in the church.

Commenting on Morris' letter in which he accuses the Vatican of a "lack of care for the truth," Nuzzi's Vatileaks book has the Holy Father writing, "Obviously there was a misunderstanding, created, it seems to me, by my insufficient knowledge of the English language."

"In our meeting, I tried to convince him that his resignation was desirable, and I thought he expressed his willingness to renounce his functions as bishop of Toowoomba."

"From his letter, I see this was a misunderstanding," Benedict writes. "I acknowledge that, but I must say decisively that this isn't a case of 'a lack of care for the truth.'"

This revelation is one of many by NCR journalist, John Allen in his 1 June column where he examines Gianluigi Nuzzi's Vatileaks book "His Holiness: The Secret Papers of Benedict XVI".

Allen also recalls from among Benedict's notes, Morris' objection to the way the Vatican handling his case.

Benedict concludes, "there's no doubt of his very good pastoral intentions," but "the diocesan bishop must be, above all, a teacher of the faith, since the faith is the foundation of pastoral activity."

Benedict then tells Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect for the Congregation for Bishops, to recommend that Morris accept "free renunciation of his actual ministry, in favor of a ministry more consistent with his gifts," and asks Re to "assure him of my prayers."

Morris was removed from office in 2011 for comments he made in a 2006 letter to parishioners in which he raised the prospect of the Church considering the ordination of married men, and women to help counter a looming shortfall in priests, and for some sacramental irregularities in his diocese.

Morris has consistently said he has been consistently deliberately misrepresented.

Sources

• NCR
• CathNews
• Image: Warwick Daily News

Ten months on, people are left confused as to whether Morris was sacked chiefly for what he wrote in his 2006 Advent letter about women's ordination, for what was reported by the Apostolic Visitor, Archbishop Charles Chaput, or for what was reported to Rome by those sometimes described as 'the temple police'. Now more details have come to light showing how threadbare and confused the processes were.

In his 'Statement of Position' to the three Cardinals gathered in Rome in January 2008, Morris said, 'At the end of the Apostolic Visitation, when Archbishop Chaput was being driven back to Brisbane, he remarked to Fr Brian Sparksman, our diocesan Chancellor, that he would be astounded if our diocese were to lose its bishop.

'He also asked John Bathersby (Archbishop of Brisbane) why he thought he was asked to investigate me because as far as he could see from the material provided to him things that I had reportedly said and done were happening in other places as well.'

Continue reading: Revelations shed new light on Bill Morris dismissal

Image: ABC

Ten months on, people are left confused as to whether Morris was sacked chiefly for what he wrote in his 2006 Advent letter about women's ordination, for what was reported by the Apostolic Visitor, Archbishop Charles Chaput, or for what was reported to Rome by those sometimes described as 'the temple police'. Now more details have come to light showing how threadbare and confused the processes were.

50 years on, we gather to celebrate as Catholics, confident that the gifts of the Spirit will assist us in proclaiming the Good News to each other, to our fellow believers, and to our fellow citizens no matter what their religious beliefs or none. Let's recall that it was the week of Christian Unity in 1959 when John XXIII gathered with a small selection of his cardinals in the Benedictine chapterhouse beside the Basilica of Saint Paul-Outside-the-Walls when he said, 'I am prompted to open my mind and heart to you, because of this feast of the Conversion of St Paul. I want to tell you frankly about several points of planned pastoral activity which have emerged in my thoughts because of my brief three months here within these church circles in Rome. In doing so, I am thinking of the care of the souls of the faithful in these modern times.' Continue reading

Sources

• Frank Brennan SJ in Eureka Street
• Image: Caput Mundi

Retired Judge Bill Carter QC was invited to conduct an investigation into the controversial sacking.

Angered by the sacking, Morris' supporters, more than 1,000 people signed a petition over his 'forced retirement'.

Many of these people were behind the move to hire the services of Judge Carter.

Judge Carter found

• the church committed a number of legal errors
• the decision to remove Bishop Morris had been made before he was notified of an investigation, and that
• Morris was advised of his sacking through an unsigned letter.

Morris was targeted over deliberated misrepresented comments he made in 2006, comments that were deliberately misrepresented.

Following up the complaint, the Vatican began an investigation which included an apostolic visitation and ongoing discussions with the Vatican-based congregations for Bishops, Divine Worship and Doctrine of the Faith and even the Pope.

Sources

• Warwick Daily News
• CathNews
• Image: Courier Mail

In interviews with Catholic News Service and in their statement, the bishops said they had a special meeting with Cardinals Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, and William J. Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to discuss the pope's decision to remove Bishop Morris from office in May. They also met both cardinals separately.

"Our discussions with them were substantial, serious and candid," and gave the bishops "a more adequate understanding" of steps taken by the Vatican over a decade to resolve difficulties with the Toowoomba bishop, the statement said.

Bishop Morris was asked to resign six times by three different Vatican congregations, according to news reports. But matters became even more serious in 2006 when he said in a pastoral letter that he would be open to ordaining women and married men if church rules changed to allow such a possibility.

In 2007, the Vatican asked Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, who was archbishop of Denver at the time, to conduct an apostolic visitation of Toowoomba.

The Australian bishops' Oct. 21 statement said, "What the Holy See did was fraternal and pastoral, rather than juridical in character. Although efforts continued over many years, a critical point came when Bishop Morris failed to clarify his position to the satisfaction of the Holy See" and declined to resign when the pope asked him to do so.

The pope removed Bishop Morris as head of the Diocese of Toowoomba but imposed no other sanctions.

"What was at stake was the church's unity in faith and the ecclesial communion between the pope and the other bishops in the College of Bishops," the statement said. "Eventually Bishop Morris was unable to agree to what this communion requires and at that point the pope acted as the successor of Peter, who has the task of deciding what constitutes unity and communion in the church."

The Australian bishops said they accept the pope's exercise of his ministry and they reaffirm their communion with him.

Source: CNS

Image: Australia InCognito

The congregation overflowed from the cathedral into outside marquee where the service was broadcast live.

Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell labelled protesters as a "predictable chorus" and a "minority."

However spokesperson for the group, Fr Ray Crowley denies both these labels.

"We want to show the Vatican that it needs to have a process that includes transparency in its actions. We can't afford, as a Local Church, to be losing people of Bishop Morris's calibre and standing," Fr Crowley said.

"We know that Bishop Morris has huge support across the community and we are incensed that there seems to have been such a lack of natural justice in the process that led to his taking early retirement."

"We are urging people to take part in a petition that can found at a special website we have set up for Bishop Morris at www.bishopbillstory.com.au and we urge people to add their names to it by July 24.

"The majority of people in our Diocese are distraught that the Vatican has not provided Bishop Morris with natural justice and that he has had to leave his post as a result. This is a real issue for every other Diocese in Australia and we urge people to get involved."

Former chair of the Diocesan Pastoral Council, Mr John Elish said, "When a bishop get dismissed, a lot of Catholics and the general community think there must be more (to the dismissal) than they're saying."

"We've set up this website and I think anyone who visits it won't be able to draw any conclusion other than the lack of natural justice."

Bishop Morris was 'sacked' following a 'visit' by Vatican appointed Charles Chaput. Chaput has recently been promoted as archbishop of the embattled Philadelphia diocese.

Fr Crowley said the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has agreed to receive the petition on August 2.

Sources

• Toowooma Chronicle
• Westender
• Image: Warwick Daily News

The veteran cardinal, a one-time contender for the papacy, says there's "no fundamental theological obstacle" to the ordination of women as priests in the Catholic Church.

Rather, he suggested, it has never been done from the time of Jesus, and while it will happen, it won't be in our time.

Now is not the time to raise the question, he opined.

"There's a fundamental equality among all the members of the church," the cardinal said. "The problem lies in a strong tradition, which comes from Jesus and from the fact that the churches of the Reformation conceded the priesthood to women."

Policarpo's claim that there is no theological bar to women priests would seem to be at odds with various recent Vatican declarations.

When the Church of England allowed women priests, John Paul II "seemed to settle the matter," with Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, one of the shortest documents of his pontificate; however Polycarpo said, "the matter cannot be resolved like this."

More recently, Pope Benedict, in a letter informing Australian Bishop William Morris of the Toowoomba diocese that he had been removed from office, referred to the teaching on women priests as "infallible," and that he was dismissed in part for raising the question of women's ordination in a pastoral letter.

Policarpo, 75, a former dean of the theology faculty at the Portugese Catholic University, has been the Patriarch of Lisbon since 1998. Although reaching the usual retirement age for bishops, Benedict XVI recently confirmed him in office for another two years.

Sources

• La Stampa
• NCR Online
• ucanews.com
• Image: Interview with Cardinal Policarpo (PDF in Portugese)

The recent, unfortunate forced early retirement of Bishop Morris of Toowoomba has caused significant disquiet, not just in Australia, but throughout the Catholic world says Gerald Arbuckle.

Even the Australian Bishops' Conference, while reaffirming their loyalty to the Pope as the head of the College of Bishops, nonetheless has publicly and very wisely stated that they will later this year "have the opportunity to share with the Holy Father…[their] questions and concerns with an eye to the future." Bishop Morris' human and priestly qualities have never been in question.

Why are people concerned? Simply because the process has lacked transparency and due process.

The Archbishop Chaput from Denver, USA, officially visited the diocese and wrote a report for Rome. This report finally led to the forced retirement. But the problem is: Bishop Morris has not seen this secret report so he has been unable to defend himself. This is contrary to natural justice.

Unfortunately, many theologians have been censured, even condemned, over the years by Rome, and secrecy has also without justification interfered with the process. It has been customary for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to assess theological orthodoxy in this way: the Congregation is prosecutor, judge, and jury; the person being investigated is not told of the inquiry until stage thirteen (of eighteen stages; the defendant is unable to choose his/her defender or even know his/her identity, nor is there access to material relating to the allegations against the accused; no publicity is permitted concerning the proceedings and there is no right of appeal.

There are times when secrecy is essential, for example to protect the welfare of a person or group, but it must not be habitually used as a cloak for anything any organization does or wants to keep from the public gaze. And, as we see in secular affairs also, the habit of secrecy often leads to a very unpleasant quality, namely the justification of infringing laws and human rights "for the sake of the common good." Secrets give power of control over others, even more so when those who cultivate them are accountable to no public group. We have but to recall how secrecy was used in the Inquisition to intimidate victims. The use of secrecy to intimidate continues.

The Church is not above the Gospel. It is imperative that we respect human rights everywhere, first and foremost within the Church itself, otherwise it contradicts what it is trying to preach. Was it not the Bishops' Synod of 1971 that said: "While the Church is bound to give witness to justice, she recognizes that anyone who ventures to speak to people about justice must first be just in their eyes. Hence we must undertake an examination of the modes of acting …within the Church itself."

It is time to cease using secrecy in ecclesiastical matters in ways that infringe the rights of members of the Church.

___________________

Gerald A. Arbuckle, sm is the author of Refounding the Church: Dissent for Leadership (1993). His most recent book is: Culture, Inculturation, and Theologians: A Postmodern Critique (2010).

Image: St Vincent de Paul Society

According to the Catholic News Agency, the document also confirms that the Vatican removed Morris for abuses in the celebration of the celebration of the Sacrament of Penance and for advocating women's ordination to the priesthood.

The document, "Summary History of Bishop Morris' dispute with the Roman dicasteries" was prepared by two priests loyal to Bishop Morris, Peter Schultz, the diocese's judicial vicar, and Peter Dorfield, former vicar general of the diocese. The two are part of an eight-member body of priests who make up the bishop's "college of consultors," and who are protesting at Morris' removal. The document also outlines the history of the case.

While friction between Morris and the Vatican became evident soon after he was installed in the Toowoomba diocese in 1993, Professor of Public Policy at ACU, Frank Brennan SJ, suggests the turning point in the Morris-Vatican relationship was a report of US bishop Charles Chaput who conducted a formal visitation of the diocese on behalf of the Vatican.

And while after Chaput's visit, all but three priests of the diocese wrote to Rome in support of Morris' pastoral leadership and so too did all the Pastoral Leaders and all members of the Diocesan Pastoral Council, Chaput's report has never been released.

Brennan is of the view that because not even Morris has seen the report, he has been denied his right to natural justice.

Morris would like the report published. "Yes, I would like it published because I think my people deserve the right to - you know, if Archbishop Chaput, who wandered around the diocese for three-and-a-half days ... and then made a judgment on the diocese, I think the people have a right to see what judgments he made in his report."

Chaput told independent news source, National Catholic Reporter (NCR), that to protect all parties involved the report, like all apostolic visitation reports, would remain confidential.

Morris thinks his forced retirement is intended to "send a message to the bishops of the world: the fact that if you ask questions, if you're in people's faces long enough, if you're kind of a nuisance around the place, well look what happened to Bill Morris."

Catholic Church needs good leaders

Barney Zwartz, religion writer for The Age, says he has spent considerable energy over the years defending the Catholic Church from some of the extremes of vitriol it attracts, but believes the Church's worst enemy is its own leadership.

"It wasn't abuse that sparked the Vatican's ire and (relatively) swift action against Bishop Morris", he said. "There are predatory rapists in clerical collars in Australia who have not been forced to resign".

Brennan says, "This is a tragedy for anyone committed to the Church except for those like the chap who wrote on my Facebook: "The guy was a cowboy, not a shepherd". It's that sort of chap who probably started it all with complaints to Rome, behind closed doors. We need more shepherds in the light and fewer cowboys in the dark. Morris was a good shepherd even to those who acted as cowboys".

Meanwhile, the Australian Bishops' Conference have come out in support of the Pope's decision over Bishop Morris and affirmed the "unique role" of the Pope as head of the College of Bishops.

Sources

• CNA
• NCR
• America Magazine
• Catholic Culture
• The Age
• The Australian
• Image: ABC

On one side are critics of "creeping infallibility," meaning a steady expansion of the set of church teachings that lie beyond debate. On the other are those, including Benedict, worried about "theological positivism," meaning that there is such a sharp emphasis on formal declarations of infallibility that all other teachings, no matter how constantly or emphatically they've been defined, seem up for grabs.

Read John Allen's article in National Catholic Reporter

Image: World Catholicism Week

Many find the idea of politics existing in the Church distasteful, but the Church, divine in foundation, is also a human institution and in any human institution politics are an essential element; not only necessary but desirable. Understanding the politics helps with the understanding of Bishop Morris's resignation. This piece by Noel Debien who is the producer of ABC's Sunday Night's radio program describes the long back-story.

Debinien says that at a meeting between the Roman Curia and some of the senior Bishops of Australia in December 1998, a document known as the Statement of Conclusions was presented. It has to do with the perceived characteristics of Australian Catholics that had became crystalised in the minds of key Vatican figures. "The document was aimed at all of the Bishops of Australia and their dioceses - and was quite confronting, to say the least". "The (then) Cardinal Ratzinger had been influential in the preparation of the document, as were Sydney's Cardinal Edward Clancy and Brisbane's Bishop Michael Putney, both of whom were on the committee that produced the Statement.

"The presentation of the Statement made it clear that its conclusions had been reached long before their own particular Ad Limina dialogues had begun in Rome. It also became clear that the views of only some bishops and other voices had influenced the Pope's advisers in the lead up to the bishops' dialogue." Morris had become Bishop of Toowoomba in 1993, six years before the crisis brought about by the Statement of Conclusions. He had been present at the 1998 curial meeting at which the Statement was presented, though he was not a signatory.

Of Australians, the Statement said things like:

About 200 people gathered for a quiet prayer session opposite Bishop Morris's Toowoomba home at Queen's Park on Tuesday evening, while another group gathered at the city's St Patrick's cathedral.

Eight Toowoomba diocese priests on Tuesday issued a statement expressing support for the catholic bishop.

"The far greater majority of priests and lay people of the diocese have found the pastoral leadership of Bishop Morris to be constructive, informed and life-giving," they said.

Father Peter Dorfield, the vicar general of the Toowoomba diocese, and one of eight priests who co-authored the letter of support, told AAP Bishop Morris helped the families of the victims seek civil court action if they wanted it.

"He encouraged compassion and justice for these families," he said.

Fr Dorfield says, compared to what Bishop Morris did for the community, his sacking over his 2006 letter seemed trivial.

"In our view, Bishop Morris has not been treated fairly or respectfully," the joint statement says.

"We find his removal profoundly disheartening."

Priest of the diocese and supporter of Bishop Morris, Fr Jamie Collins said "A lot of people feel hurt and devastated by what's happened, especially as he has always been so open and transparent in his own leadership. I think their faith will be affected in some way, but I think like Bill, they're not angry but sad. It has caused them to question their faith in Church leadership."

Another priest who wished to remain anonymous, said he had been approached by Catholics who threatened to leave the Church.

Bathersby supports Rome

Brisbane's Archbishop John Bathersby says the Pope must have had a good reason to sack the bishop of the Diocese of Toowoomba in Queensland, and while he does not know the "ins and outs of the situation" he knew Bill very well, and the outcome saddened him.

Bathersby said he supported the actions Rome had taken.

Temple Police

For his part, Bishop Morris, on Tuesday said he was not angry about his forced resignation. He was however "sad".

The problem is the "temple police", a group of about 15 parishioners and priests and what they do is continually protest to Rome," Bishop Morris said. "Naturally the Vatican doesn't get letters from all the people who are happy," he said.

Bishop Morris said it would be wrong for people to walk away. "The important thing is to keep going, working together and making sure there is true justice through transparency".

Sources

• Image: Toowoomba Chronicle
• Manawatu Standard
• Brisbane Times
• The Age
• Bishop backs 'good' bishop's sacking
• Faithful angry over Bishop William Morris' dismissal

In making the announcement, Morris says he has been targeted over comments he made five years ago, comments that have been deliberately misrepresented.

In a 2006 letter to parishioners Bishop Morris raised the prospect of the Church considering the ordination of married men and women to help counter a looming shortfall in priests.

The letter has been "misread and I believe deliberately misinterpreted by a small group (which has) found my leadership and the direction of the diocese not to their liking".

Following up the complaint, the Vatican began an investigation which included an apostolic visitation and ongoing discussions with the Vatican-based congregations for Bishops, Divine Worship and Doctrine of the Faith and even the Pope.

"Appalling" is how ousted priest, Fr Peter Kennedy described the situation.

"Bishop Morris is a man of an amazing amount of compassion … people generally in the diocese know the compassion of this man and the goodness of this man," Fr Kennedy said.

However Kennedy is not surprised by the Vatican's decision.

"It was John Paul II who said the actual ordination of women could never be discussed even and it was interesting to hear he was beatified yesterday," he said.

"The absolute authority of the Vatican that is held over bishops - you've got to remember that bishops, when they become bishops, promise obedience of mind and will to the Holy Father."

Catholics in the Toowoomba diocese say they are in shock after their bishop was forced to quit after the dispute with the Pope.

"There is a whole range of reactions - some people are just shocked and saddened, some people were in tears, some people were extremely angry," Fr Dorfield said.

"Some people were just shaking their heads - just simply couldn't comprehend how a man who was so well regarded in our diocese, prayerful and pastoral, could be considered as not suitable to be the Bishop."

The chair of the diocese and pastoral council in Toowoomba, John Elich, says Bishop Morris has done an extraordinary job.

"Bishop Bill Morris has been poorly and unfairly treated and secondly, I guess disappointed on behalf of the church that a decision could be made with no forms of natural justice whatsoever - no access even to a report that was prepared," Elich said.

Bishop Morris had been among a handful of Queensland bishops considered to contain the frontrunners for the role of archbishop of the Brisbane Archdiocese, to be vacated later this year by the retirement of Archbishop John Bathersby.

A vigil mass will be held outside the Bishop Morris's house in Toowoomba tomorrow.

Sources

• Courier Mail
• ABC
• ABC News