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PDF versionAustralian bishops to discuss Morris ouster during ad limina visits
Forced retirement came after a 13-year process 'ended in deadlock'
May. 12, 2011
The head of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference expressed "our sadness" at the retirement of Bishop William Morris of the Diocese of Toowoomba and said the bishops will continue discussion of the event during their ad limina visits in Rome later this year.
Morris was forced to retire after failing to reach agreement with the Vatican over several issues, including use of general confession and absolution and suggesting that the church should discuss alternatives, including ordination of women, to an all-male celibate clergy that is in serious decline.
The bishops conference statement was delivered in the form of a letter dated May 12 from Archbishop Philip Wilson to Bishop Brian Finnigan, who has been appointed apostolic administrator in Morris's absence. Wilson said that the Australian bishops spent "much of our time" during a recent meeting discussing the recent events among themselves and with 40 leaders of religious congregations, many of whom have members working in the Diocese of Toowoomba.
While Morris has received strong support from the National Council of Priests in Australia and from most of the priests in his diocese, the statement of the bishops' conference was measured, reflecting on their responsibilities as bishops and upon "the unique role of the pope as head of the College of Bishops." The letter acknowledges "Pope Benedict's faithfulness to the Petrine ministry, even when it involves very difficult decisions."
According to Wilson, the forced retirement May 2 came following a complex 13-year process that "ended in deadlock."
He said discussion of the process that concluded with Morris's forced retirement "will continue during our ad limina visit to Rome later this year. There we will have the opportunity to share with the Holy Father and members of the Roman Curia the fruits of our discussion and to share our questions and concerns with an eye to the future."
A summary of Morris's dispute with congregations in Rome and a reflection on the recent events, put together by priests in Toowoomba, claims that the bishop's trouble with Rome began shortly after he was installed as bishop in 1993 on the heels of several changes in the style of leadership from the previous bishop.
The priests describe him as encouraging dialogue and collaboration with such measures as creation of a personnel board that consulted with people of the parishes prior to recommending a priest as pastor; establishment of a diocesan liturgical commission to educate priests and people; establishment of guidelines for the use of general absolution and communal rites of reconciliation. Morris conducted diocesan assemblies "designed to invigorate the pastoral life of the diocese and review and refine a diocesan pastoral plan." The bishop also wore a tie bearing his coat of arms rather than the Roman collar, and he offered priests the option of wearing a similar tie as clerical dress, in addition to traditional clerical garb. The choice was left to individual priests.
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"The bishop's relaxed and open style was welcomed by most of the diocese. However, there was a small but vocal minority who found fault with nearly every action he took and decision he made," the priests wrote, and the group began sending letters to Vatican congregations.
The priests describe a growing tension between Morris and the Vatican congregations that resulted in the 2007 visitation by Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput, who produced a written report for the Vatican that Morris has not yet seen.
Click on this image to read the full text of the letter from Archbishop Philip Wilson.During an interview on the Australian Broadcasting Corp. May 8, Morris said the communal rite of confession with general absolution was the first element over which he engaged discussion with Rome. He said he did a survey of people in his large diocese, a vast, sparsely populated rural area larger than the size of Germany, according to Morris, and found that a consistent wish of the people was for communal penance services. He said he took up the cause "because I really believe the people need a voice. If the spirit of the church and the faith of the church is going to be heard, then it's the voice of the people with the hierarchy and so forth, it's one voice. If the bishop in the local community doesn't give voice to the people's concerns … well then they certainly haven't got a voice."
He said during discussions with Vatican officials in Rome he was accused of giving the people a vote over matters. He said he was unable to change the conversation to "I was listening to people's voices. I was listening to their hearts and so on, and I wasn't giving them a vote. I was asking them so that I could hear them. But somehow or other the conversation always came back to I gave them a vote."
Morris, when asked if he had a message for the wider church, responded: "The church is the people, and the Second Vatican Council made that very clear. They have a voice and a heart, and it's terribly important for them to keep that voice going and to demand of their bishops, through their parish councils, through diocesan pastoral councils, through all the mechanism" that exists, and that bishops "allow their voice to be heard in the church and the world, so that the Spirit speaks through the total church and not presumably just through a few."
[Tom Roberts is NCR editor at large. His e-mail address is troberts@ncronline.org.]
Bishop just call me Bill and
Bishop just call me Bill and please have all my priests wear matching neckties claimed he wanted "dialogue" but bucked any dialogue every time it came up. Anytime he was asked for clarification or response he would take months and months to respond, if at all. He did everything he can to smokescreen any questions with vague, misleading, or no response, and then then when it finally backfired he says that he was given no chance to reply to a process years and years in the making. He simply has no integrity. Good thing he has that fine collection of neckties to go to job applications...
It sounds, above, like Bp.
It sounds, above, like Bp. Morris is the Bishop who should have been made "Blessed" on Sunday May 1st. Bp. Morris has my vote as the next Pope!!!
When I went to Papua-New
When I went to Papua-New Guinea as a missionary, I loved the informality of never wearing clearical garb. Everyone knew who I was even if they met me on a bush track and I had a whitle T shirt and shorts. My son and four grandchildren in Australia are wonderful Christians but are not in the Catholic Church. When I spent a month with them last July I joined with them in their worship but lamented the lack of the Eucharist. My great grandfather was a priest in England. I eventually, after a long struggle, left the priesthood and married and am grateful for both vocations. I wish I could have combined them. After my wife died I find myself again in ministry in the wonderful Beginning Experience Weekends.
The Good Lord must say when will they they ever learn! Why can't they rejoice in my Love and love and serve one another.
This sounds like saber
This sounds like saber rattling by the temple police. My comment- Kangaroo droppings.
This may have something to
This may have something to say on the issue of married Priests from the bible
1 Timothy 4
Apostasy
1But (A)the Spirit explicitly says that (B)in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to (C)deceitful spirits and (D)doctrines of demons,
2by means of the hypocrisy of liars (E)seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,
3men who (F)forbid marriage and advocate (G)abstaining from foods which (H)God has created to be (I)gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.
4For (J)everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is (K)received with gratitude;
5for it is sanctified by means of (L)the word of God and prayer.
AD LIMINA BISHOPS: "Holy
AD LIMINA BISHOPS: "Holy Father, if it please you, might you reconsider your decision to fire our colleague, Bishop Morris."
POPE BENEDICT XVI: "How dare you question my judgment and prerogative!!!"
THE BISHOPS (kowtowing): "Holy Father, of course you were right. Please forgive us for even *thinking* of questioning your decision. Of course you were correct."
THE POPE: "Now bend over, kiss my grits! And take 40 lashes from my servant's knotted rope!"
THE BISHOPS (duly bending over): "O, please, Father of the Inquisition, not too hard, OK?"
FATHER XYZ (wielding his rope): Whack!!! "Take this, you insubordinate Ausies!" Whack!!! "I'll put the fear o' God in ya'!" Whack!!! ........
THE POPE (to himself): "That will teach them that I'm their boss, by God!"
And things eventually returned to normal --- with the good hierarchs living in a constant state of fear.
Deo gratias.
Joseph Jaglowicz on May. 12,
Joseph Jaglowicz on May. 12, 2011.
You stated:
"AD LIMINA BISHOPS: "Holy Father, if it please you, might you reconsider your decision to fire our colleague, Bishop Morris."
POPE BENEDICT XVI: "How dare you question my judgment and prerogative!!!"
THE BISHOPS (kowtowing): "Holy Father, of course you were right. Please forgive us for even *thinking* of questioning your decision. Of course you were correct."
THE POPE: "Now bend over, kiss my grits! And take 40 lashes from my servant's knotted rope!"
THE BISHOPS (duly bending over): "O, please, Father of the Inquisition, not too hard, OK?"
FATHER XYZ (wielding his rope): Whack!!! "Take this, you insubordinate Ausies!" Whack!!! "I'll put the fear o' God in ya'!" Whack!!! ........
THE POPE (to himself): "That will teach them that I'm their boss, by God!"
And things eventually returned to normal --- with the good hierarchs living in a constant state of fear.
Deo gratias."
----------------------------------------
Oh, Joseph----this was BRILLIANT! And yes, Benedict is the Pope of the psychological Inquisition.
In early April, I had my students doing research work for class in the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. It was amazing to me (and to a good number of my students) how much of the hegemonism of Third Reich is mirrored in the practices of the official Catholic Church today.
"It was amazing to me (and to
"It was amazing to me (and to a good number of my students) how much of the hegemonism of Third Reich is mirrored in the practices of the official Catholic Church today."
Poor students to be brainwashed by such a teacher!
Hold on a minute. This is an
Hold on a minute. This is an insulting fantasy. I can't imagine Australians ever kowtowing to any Inquisition. Along with their mates, they laughed at the pretensions of the last Reich.
Bishop Morris has only two
Bishop Morris has only two options left, One is to retire as ordered; the second is to found a new autonomous Australian Catholic Church. Under Canon law any male priests or bishops Morris ordains would still have valid orders though they would not be part of the RC church. There was a time I thought the right option would be for him to retire, now I am not sure which path God would want to follow.
I have similar feelings when
I have similar feelings when I walk past St Mary's church in Brisbane. I feel that Fr Peter Kennedy should never have left that place. The church is the people. But getting back to Bishop Morris your suggestion that there be an autonomous Australian Catholic Church is something to think about. Perhaps Martin Luther had similar thoughts before the Reformation. As a woman I cannot help but feel that the Roman church regards us as secondary, lesser beings. It is really time for all grown up Australians to move with a new Spirit. The Roman church is becoming meaningless to educated, caring and loving Catholics who are really only trying to practice their faith in this wide, brown land. How big is the Vatican again?
We're leaving the Church in
We're leaving the Church in droves. Every day more people are leaving because those who we used to look up to don't really care about the flock and not God's people. There are more of them than I ever knew existed. I have heard those within the Church say, Let them leave, we don't need them. The Church will be better off without them. How arrogant is that? A follower of Christ would never have that attitude. It is a sad state of affairs.
The Church in Australia *is*
The Church in Australia *is* on life support - and I hate to say it, but it is men like Bishop Morris who are mainly responsible for putting it there.
Lost in this reportage is the devastation visited on Toowoomba in recent decades - and the plight of people like the Power family, detailed in CNA's latest story on this sad state of affairs:
Toowoomba, Australia, May 11, 2011 / 11:38 am (CNA).- Norm and Mavis Power moved to Toowoomba back in 1959, not long after getting married. The attractions of the Queensland city were obvious for a young couple hoping for a family – good schools, a pleasant climate and so many green spaces and parks it’s known across Australia as “the Garden City.” But that wasn’t all.
“Most importantly, we wanted our children to be brought up in the Catholic faith,” explains Mavis.
“At that time there was a monastery right in the middle of the town run by the Blessed Sacrament Fathers. It was a real center of prayer and activity. In fact, all the city’s Catholic churches were full. The life of the Church was so vibrant. Now, though, the monastery is closed and those same churches are empty. It’s so, so sad.”
Link: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/in-toowoomba-legacy-of-bishop-bil...
Where are the rights of people like the Powers? Do they have any rights at all? Do the commenters here care about them at all? Do they just get dismissed as "temple police?" All they wanted was the vibrant Catholic faith they had grown up and had received. Instead, they get strange new innovations forced on them, empty churches, vanished religious orders. Who is responsible?
And who is really authoritarian? Rome played footsie with Bishop Power for 13 years, giving him innumerable chances and opportunities to "dialogue." But for the very few priests or potential vocations who displayed the slightest interest in traditional devotions, Power came down relentlessly - no future for these men at all. No tolerance. Is it any surprise he managed only 1 vocation (!!!!) in 18 years?
Judge him by his fruits: No vocations, a dying cadre of aged priests, shriveled congregations, dying religious orders. Those fruits are wanting.
ALL THESE DISCOURAGING
ALL THESE DISCOURAGING STATISTICS. ARE THEY THE RESULT OF BISHOP MORRIS ACTIONS? COULD THE EXODUS FROM THE R.C.CHURCH HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE PHILISTINES IN ROME? RILIGOUSLY FOLLOWING THE LAW AS THEY INTERPRET IT BUT TOTALLY IGNORING CHRISTIANITY.
Ed: since the 1960's there
Ed:
since the 1960's there have been hundreds of bishop like Morris, especially here in the USA. I have never seen one who attracted an adequate number vocations. On the other hand, I know dozen of very "traditional" dioceses where the seminaries are full. There is plenty of statistics to back this up. So, getting all upset and self-righteous (people in Rome=Philistines; only you know what Christianity is) will not change reality.
Somehow you have your Bishops
Somehow you have your Bishops mixed up - it is Bishop Morris who has been, sadly, unjustly forced to retire.
You have ignored our societal change in the sixties when you analyse the Australian church on life support - but I believe if some of what Bishop Morris and other prophetrs like him who have been pondering and reflecting on the early Church and what gave it life, were actually implemented, we would have a very different church.
Sadly, the kind of discourse that I read from you tells me that the fruits of the HOly Spirit are missing-and Paul said 'test every Spirit'. Read Galatians 5 and ponder the Word. the kind of 'campaign' that Bishop Morris was subjected to by those who wrote to the vatican is not of the Spirit. Liz
You never go forward by going
You never go forward by going back
When forward is downward only
When forward is downward only backward is upward!
Progress in unhealthy directions is only to be deplored.
Richard, Rome played
Richard, Rome played "footsies" with Bishop Power because he had a foot in two camps like so many of them have.
I recall the pantomime where he was the major player when one priest in his diocese, who had been fooling around with women for years, eventally fathering a child of one of them, the mother coerced into giving up her baby for adoption as the "loving thing to do".
Then came the forced (expedient) public confession from the pulpit, standing in solidarity with his priest, the tears, affirmations, reclaiming of the priethood, etc.etc. and the certitude there would be no paternity or inheritance issues for the Diocese to worry about, with both mother and child paled into oblivion.
All on public record.
Absolutely sickening.
I am a convert, but, I have
I am a convert, but, I have done a lot of searching so I know about how many, if not most, religious order congregations work, and, here is a question I have for all of the people who are so adamant about people not "voting" in the Church, or, the Church not being a democracy: For the most part, professed members of religious orders get to vote when it is time for a new Abbot/Abbess/Superior, so, WHY would it be so outrageous for a parish to be able to vote on a new pastor??
I'm not saying I believe this should happen, there is some merit in rotating pastors around, even some Protestant denominations do that, I'm just wondering why some persons get so upset over the suggestion that parishioners have the same liberty as religious orders, particularly by persons who would like to run dioceses/parishes as if they were pseudo-religious orders. (It almost seems to me they would be terrified of being voted out?)
Well, I have two
Well, I have two observations:
1) Look how well voting for religious leaders has worked in the mainline protestant demoninations which are all collapsing faster than the church.
2) Look how well voting has for many of the orders of nuns here in the US which are also collapsing.
In the end the Holy Spirit will guide the church. Not popularity contests...
Ritagail: I thought the issue
Ritagail:
I thought the issue here was "voting" about doctrine and practices, such as collective absolution and the abolition of individual confession (which apparently is what Bshp. Morris justified as "the will of the people")
Well Ritagail, in referring
Well Ritagail, in referring to religious orders, for one thing, it's one way of keeping the dirty washing under wraps, I know that from experience.
Most members of the "inner sanctum" have been selected and there is always a consensus not that Rome always accepts their decisions, so all in all, they're toothless tigers just for the record.
PS. I too am a convert, not that it makes much difference, apart from having higher expectations of the faith we have embraced.
You will learn.
Dear Tom, excellent
Dear Tom, excellent reporting! I listened to you on the ABC radio program with Bishop Bill John Cleary et al on Sunday evening (Aust time). Your comments there were measured and respectful. I do pray that the same stance is adopted by all your correspondents.
I personally have written to Archbishop Wilson to seek confirmation from him as President of the ACBC that Bishop Bill is still a voting member of the ACBC.
Additionally I have written to the Apolostic Nuncio in Australia to garner some idea as to whether the process for the appointment of a new Bishop for the Diocese of Toowoomba involves consultation with the laity and/or clergy of the Toowoomba Diocese and/or the ACBC.
I am speechless, and with
I am speechless, and with fewer pastors like former Bishop Morris, I am voiceless, too.
And very sad.
Paz y Bien, Rolando, SFO.
It's sad that the "Successors
It's sad that the "Successors of Peter" have played themselves off the team along with their appointed Bishops who cannot be removed under Canon Law.
When attending ANY daily Mass in ANY parish in America, the true Successors of Peter are to be found in the pews.
The Hierarchy have no clothes and are functionally an impediment to gaining entrance to Heaven. The Chanceries
are a haven for those who have a careen but are bereft of a vocation.
Pathetic
A liberal Protestant who
A liberal Protestant who thinks he is Catholic is also somewhat pathetic.
Bishop Bill initiated the
Bishop Bill initiated the communal Rite in his Diocese due to the difficulty for Parishioners to access confession in the outlying regions.
I attended the first one at the Cathedral in Toowoomba and the crowds that gathered resulted in traffic jams in the surrounding streets.It should be noted that the presiding priest always sdvised that absolution for serious sins required personal cofession which was available at the conclusion of the service in the confessional.
A comment was made to me by a bypasser "who said the Church was in decline around here!!!"
I was always confused as to
I was always confused as to why liberals love general absolution so much. Isn't it just the priest saying the magic words with no personal interaction?
Good old boys club. Tehyre
Good old boys club.
Tehyre sad, when a self-righteously lazy incompetent gets the axe?
Morris 16 years, and one new priest. One. Then blames it on "the system".
Chaput, his seminaries overflowing. Without women, even without Presbyterians! Took him 3 seconds to see thru Morris.
Chaput's seminaries are not
Chaput's seminaries are not totally full of good ole American boys and the cost of ordaining those boys is astronomical. His seminary system, including capital construction, has cost about 70 million since 2009. It's produced 58 priests, not all of which were for the Archdiocese of Denver. Had Bihsop Morris chosen to put 70 million into a seminary system for which he recruited world wide, his numbers might have been more in line with Chaput's.
http://opentabernacle.wordpress.com/2010/07/27/why-is-it-worth-70-millio...
ooops, it should read 70
ooops, it should read 70 million from 1999 to 2009.
chris haynes on May. 12,
chris haynes on May. 12, 2011.
You stated:
"Good old boys club.
Tehyre sad, when a self-righteously lazy incompetent gets the axe?
Morris 16 years, and one new priest. One. Then blames it on "the system".
Chaput, his seminaries overflowing. Without women, even without Presbyterians! Took him 3 seconds to see thru Morris."
---------------------------------------
Archbishop Chaput has 5 million Catholics in his archdiocese and he's ordaining only 5 men as priests. One priest for each million Catholics.
Bishop Morris had less than 159,300 people in his whole diocese. There is no comparision in numbers. But there is a comparision in who is more pastoral.
When Australia had the horrible flooding a year or two ago (just like the Mississippi is doing now), Bishop Morris was the only Bishop who was going to all the shealters set up for people loosing their homes, ranches, farms---businesses---to comfort them, to see how they were holding up---he cared.
Would Chaput do that? Don't hold your breath.
It seems that at least part
It seems that at least part of the reason Bishop Morris was shown the door is because he refused to assume the stole of royalty.
400,000 not 5 million! The
400,000 not 5 million!
The only archdiocese in the USA with anywhere near 5 million Catholics is Los Angeles...Chaput heads the Archdiocese of Denver.
"small but vocal minority"
"small but vocal minority" should probably read "small but wealthy minority".
I am impressed by the actions that got Bishop Morris in trouble; most American dioceses (or at least the Catholic faithful in them) would happily contribute millions to Rome to get a bishop like him.
Essentially he said "Our people need the Eucharist and in order to ensure that, whatever Rome allows, I'm for it". For that he was fired!!!!!!
So the Australian bishops
So the Australian bishops plan to bring up this injustice during their ad limina visits. Big deal! That will make a lot of difference. The fact of the matter is our bishops ceded their sacramental authority to Rome a long time ago. They were happy to be middle management if they thought it would help them climb the corporate ladder. Any single bishop who speaks out will be punished as was Morris. The only answer is for them to stand up to Rome's abuse of power as a national conference and let the chips fall as they may. And we know this will never happen. For far too many of them the church equals the hierarchy and not the people of God.
13 YEAR process? What
13 YEAR process?
What happened 13 years ago to trigger this process?
What have been the stages and twists and turns to this process?
What's the difference between Bp Morris' consultation of the people and any number of pastoral planning initiatives in the States in giving people a voice or "vote" so-called?
What happens if the Consultors refuse to admit the letter of appointment?
The RCC heirarchy sees the
The RCC heirarchy sees the church as "their" church and not as a universal church of the people or of Jesus. If a person does not buy into that theory they will kick that person out.
CER 1940 . . . you have said
CER 1940 . . . you have said it all . . . this is the whole problem . . . WHOSE CHURCH IS IT???
The old men who can only continue to repeaat ansd repeat their fossilised ideas to reinforce their authority, and continue to play power games . . .
OR
The church of all the baptised . . including the young . . . which care for and nurtures ALL of the people?????
God is a monarch,not
God is a monarch,not democratically elected or accountable...credible churches represent themselves as agents of God's monarchical authority,NOT as of any people's...we don't have and are not entitled to any say in what God's law is,if we don't believe an organization's claim to speak for God our only "vote" is to leave!!Baptism doesn't make anyone a doctrinal authority.
I thought God was pure spirit
I thought God was pure spirit and pure love, rather than a monarch.
What I wouldn't give to have
What I wouldn't give to have Morris's pastoral presence guiding my life in an urban setting. I would have stayed inside the fold instead of walking away disheartened and spiritually undernourished. Kathleen P. Los Angeles
How can you be "spiritually
How can you be "spiritually undernourished" with the Blessed Sacrament. We get nourished through interior communion with God, first. Don't put nourishment through a pastor before nourishment from the Bread of Life.
You raise an interesting
You raise an interesting question: why not rely on the Eucharist alone and forget about all those nasty, sex abusing priests. In a sense, you are right. The Eucharist is sufficient in and of itself. On the other hand, let's be real. We are a community of believers; not islands with no impact or influence on each other. Because we are a community, the possibility to sustain each other in our faith is real. Likewise, because we are a community, the possibility to harm and undermine each other in our faith is also real. We cannot separate who we are from what we do. Bad priests and bad bishops make for a bad spiritual experience. If this were not the case, we could invite any local yocal off the street into our faith community each Sunday and ask "him" to say the Mass and it shouldn't matter. Putting aside the requirement of ordination, the Eucharist would be the same no matter who said the words of consecration. But you and I know that it does matter. We do care about who is saying the Mass and what kind of person that person is. So, your advice is simply too short sighted to be viable. It matters. We can come to church and leave spiritually undernourished due to those with whom we must associate in that experience. It is that simple. We are in this together.
Bishop Morris actually
Bishop Morris actually listened to his people some of whom in outlying areas would only see a priest once a month .His diocese.takes on the model of the Chuch in the pioneering days and the number of priests now is as critical as it was in the early settlement of Queensland. Bishop Morris is made more aware than most Bishops in Australia of the shortage of pastors
Two good pieces from the
Two good pieces from the Australian ABC that gives some background as well as prognostication about the future:
http://blogs.abc.net.au/localradio/2011/05/rome-intervenes-and-forces-bi...
http://blogs.abc.net.au/localradio/2011/04/catholics-in-australia-facing...
Wouldn't it be great if we
Wouldn't it be great if we called for Bishop Morris' canonization NOW!77
Thank you for that idea.
Thank you for that idea. However, the "saint" process has lost its value in my eyes with the elevation of recent saints like Maciel --- before Mother Theresa of Calcutta!?! -- God help us. Perhaps it is more of a compliment to Morris that he is now on the "outs" like most of us.
Do you use your brains before
Do you use your brains before you type? Do you want to try again when you find something true to type?
Maciel wasn't canonized and
Maciel wasn't canonized and living people CAN NOT be canonized.Mother Teresa has been beatified while no cause for Maciel has been approved at any stage.
A letter I have just sent to
A letter I have just sent to Archbishop Wilson
To Archbishop Philip Wilson
85 McMullen Rd
Brookfield
Queensland 4069
Phone 07 3374 1660
email brookfieldryans @gmail.com
Your Grace,
I have read your letter to Bishop Brian Finnigan and the priests and people of Toowoomba and would like to thank you and the other Bishops for speaking up for Bishop Brian Morris and especially for his attempts to listen to the laity.
For a long while now we have felt that our thoughts, feelings and insights were ignored – especially by Rome. It is vital to have our voices heard. I have been recalling the words of Martin Moiller “First they came for the Jews but I did not speak up as I was not a Jew
They came for the Communists but I did not speak up for I was not a communist
They came for the Unionists but I did not speak up as I was not a Unionist
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak up for me.
Surely we have learnt something!
Priests were allowed (forced) to leave when they wanted to marry
Priests were forced to leave when they felt the need to look closely at the way they understood their beliefs.
People have been walking away in droves as they looked for more than they found in the average parish church
And now a bishop is forced to retire because he listens to the people he was leading.
Asking “Why?” and trying to find answers is probably the thing that most distinguishes humans from other animals. It is God's wonderful and unique gift to us. Forbidding us to think for ourselves and demanding we meekly accept what comes from Rome seems to me rather like throwing this extraordinary gift back in the face of God. Yes, we will make some mistakes but this will be far less damaging than saying yes to something we do not fully agree with and if we really open our hearts and minds to God the truth will surface in its own time.
Thank you and all the bishops for speaking out.
My prayers are with you,
Patricia Ryan
Patricia, your courtesy is
Patricia, your courtesy is exemplary; after 21 years of recalling the words of Moiller, with the same emotion, many have been adding their own:
They came for the mother's of your children.
We are not the mother's of your children!
No you are not; but many certainly are the father's and you refuse the father their right to ligitimizse them.
Have you tried sending a copy off to Apostolic Nuncio Lazarrotto.
'Apostolic Nunciature' nunsec@cyberone.com.au
MORE COWARDS THAN FOOLS!
MORE COWARDS THAN FOOLS! _____The cowardly bishops of Australia have spoken. That they did indicates their present fearful state. They promise to talk to their curial masters when they next get to Rome. Please, bishops, write that down so you do not forget. My recollection, from my days of representing Australia's largest mining company, was that there are e-mail and phone connections there. Why don't the bishops of Australia use them? Of course, they already have, but the hierarchy's communication connection in Australia appears only to accept incoming orders from Rome. What a disgrace! ______________________________________________________________________________Instead of standing up as direct representatives of the Apostles, the Australian bishops have completely capitulated to the modern Borgia Boys and their absolute monarch. Joseph Ratzinger has learned so well how to exercise power ruthlessly as he observed in his youthful service in the German Army during World War II. My recollection was that the Aussie's were on the winning side of that struggle. Hopefully, Bishop Morris and the few other brave Aussie bishops can marshall their Aussie courage now and move on to lead a true Catholic Church and convene an ecumenical council to renew our Church. This council, to be held anywhere but Rome, would renew the Church's governance structure to its otiginal collegial and democratic form. It would also conform all Church gender and sexual policies to the infallible sense of the faithful, instead of using the current perverse policies to control the clergy and laity, especially women. It seems John XXIII's Italian word for renew got mistranslated into the Polish and German words for restore. Let's fix that now. A schismatic Catholic Church with accountable good bishops would be much truer to the Catholic Church of the post-Apostolic Age than the current tyrannical one controlled by a ruthless and faceless curia and their errand boy bishops. ______________________________________________________________________________The escalating Roman reign of terror is nailing theologians as well as bishops. Please see Dennis Coday's May 11 NCR article entitled, "Theologian Loses License" and my comment thereto entitled,"Pervs Yes-Gays and Gals No". In the US the reign of terror is also being applied to pressure prominent US Catholic political leaders now. Please see Michael Sean Winters' May 12 NCR article entitled, "Bruhaha Over House Chaplain" and my comment thereto entitled, "MSW, You Are Wrong Thrice". The reign of terror on the laity is often via elaborate con jobs. Please see the amazing details of the actions of one of the principal US agents of the Roman Borgia Boys, Justin Rigali, as described on May 12 in Commomweal Magazine by the lay chairperson of the Philly Child Protection Board. The article, entitled "The Fog of Scandal". is assessable by clicking on to http://commonwealmagazine.org/fog-scandal-1
Man, oh, man! A bishop that
Man, oh, man! A bishop that actually remembers that VII happened, and that it was a good thing!
Now that he is available, could he become MY bishop!
It is disappointing that the
It is disappointing that the Vatican would silence a man of the cloth, who is walking in the footsteps of Christ. The Curia loses sight that the Church is the people, as bishop Morris has said, not just a few so called chosen ones. Vaticn Council II made it very clear that the Church is open to all and that we must respect the voices of the people. Participation in the Church is what I believe Christ envisoned. I don't believe that He has said that it is just for a few chosen ones. As Morris so eloquently states, " the Holy Spirit speaks through the total Church and not persumably just through a few." This "Good Boys Club" needs to see the light of the Holy Spirit and rejoice in a Chruch for all.
No wonder he was removed.
No wonder he was removed. This man is a true bishop. He is not a Roman toady and they didn't like that. So very sad. His message (last paragraph) is so uplifting, if only the other bishops and the pope would be like Bishop Morris!
Thank God for bishops and
Thank God for bishops and priests like Bishop William Morris. This beautiful man is listening to God in his heart, not just his head. Please God he will continue to receive the support and love of God's family.
I am ashamed to call myself a Roman Catholic! In fact it's an embarrassment. When/if I am asked what religion I am. My response to such a question is something like, 'a Christian who goes to Mass because of the faith community who supports me on my Christian journey'.
May the Spirit continue to open our heats and minds to the message of our Humble Servant Jesus.
After reading the above
After reading the above article I feel that if Jesus presented himself in Rome today he probably would be relieved of his messianic role! How much longer must the people of God have to endure the tyranny of
What a muted and gutless
What a muted and gutless response!
I suppose realisitically they could not openly support Morris or they too would be in the gun for forced retirement.
Perhaps that would be a good thing as it would force the issue.
Every Bishop sells his soul when elevated!
Do the minons who inhabit Rome know the physical challenges Bishops with large geographical dioceses grapple with in these days of reduced numbers of clergy to staff parishes?
No like most bureaucrats they move around in there regal garb carrying manilla folders and searching for an altar to celebrate the Eucharist!
The 3rd Rite of Reconciliation is a most beautiful expression of the social dimension of sIn. How can you comdemn something just because it is in the law book without expereincing the pastoral value for the people of God?
Well when you have such a small minded mentality therein lies the answer.
Is there any hope for the church under the sway of the Germanic mindset?
I think that the Anglicans have a great system for leadership.
10 years as the Archbsihop of Canterbury. You attract good candidates, they have the intellect and energy, they give of there best and then the move on for the next to hold the Office.
I hope Rome considers looking seriously at such a model so that we do not end up with long stayers or elderly types being elected whose only delight is in turning the hands of the clock back.
By the way do you ever hear of retired Archbishops of Canterbury?
from down under
Australian Bishop Morris
Australian Bishop Morris appears to be among a minority of bishops world-wide who have taken Vatican II pronouncements seriously. Most of the hierarchy who
were consecrated by the late Pope John Paul II have demonstrated that they are more interested in conformity to Rome at any cost and their unquestioned
authority as "papal ambassadors", rather than true pastoral shepherds.They do not dare to advocate collegiality or that The Church is the People together
with.but not subserviant to, the episcopacy.
Bishop Morris is right when he cautions bishops who dare to speak out on behalf of the People of God, that they risk facing the wrath of the
magesterium which has no intention of involving the laity in decision making, let alone true dialogue. Of course the Church is not a Democracy. It is an
Autocracy that allows for no dissension and that is why so many thinking
people have either left the Catholic Church or remain silent in the pews.
MORE DETAILS OF THIS CASE
MORE DETAILS OF THIS CASE seem to illustrate how frighten the Vatican is about any loosening of tight hierarchial controls. We have in the church a powerful caste system where the celibate clerical class are at the top and the common lay parishioners are at the very bottom (and they pay the bills!).
What he states sounds
What he states sounds sensible to me.
Maybe pedophile protecting bishops remain in power over laity objection is because we have "no vote". We had the vote in the first 1000 yrs of Catholicism.
One hopes that Bishop Morris
One hopes that Bishop Morris will be given as cushy a retirement gig as Cardinal Law of Boston.
I'm guessing that won't happen, though.
Good thing this Bishop was
Good thing this Bishop was perfect and had no incidents in his diocese at all during his tenure. Is that what you are saying?
Desperately sad. It reminds
Desperately sad. It reminds me of the dilemma faced by the French Bishops when Bishop Jacques Gaillot of Evreux was removed by JP II. I have a message for those 'small groups' of lay people who were upset by the Bishop and reported him to Rome: now that they have got their way, I hope they can also reflect on the hurt and confusion they have obviously caused to the majority of lay people together with their diocesan priests, and realise their duty is not to gloat,but to attempt to heal the rift in a positive way. Many of them probably feel in all sincerity that they have 'saved' the Church from 'heresy'. Why do I keep remembering the many passages in the Gospels where Jesus rebukes those who consider themselves the guardians of orthodoxy and says, in effect, 'you will be surprised when you finally meet me and see who is sitting at my right hand..'? Just a thought! I doubt any of these people read this website anyway but perhaps those contributors who have defended this reporting activity would like to answer on their behalf.
Incredible story. The Bishop
Incredible story. The Bishop seeks to hear the voice of the people and is silenced. Will they next edit the gospel to change the message of Jesus?
Incredible story. The Bishop
Incredible story. The Bishop seeks to hear the voice of the people and is silenced. Will they next edit the gospel to change the message of Jesus?
"He said during discussions
"He said during discussions with Vatican officials in Rome he was accused of giving the people a vote over matters. He said he was unable to change the conversation to 'I was listening to people's voices. I was listening to their hearts and so on, and I wasn't giving them a vote. I was asking them so that I could hear them. But somehow or other the conversation always came back to I gave them a vote.'"
Abuse can be covered up, but giving people a vote is the real taboo.
My reactions to this report
My reactions to this report are conflicted. First I'm glad the Australian Bishops aren't regarding this as a closed issue and for giving some support to their fellow bishop. Second, I'm sad that a small group of self-appointed rules vigilantes can wield such enormous influence. Third, I bow to the strength, courage, pastoral leadership of this bishop in spite of enornous pressures (probably most of which we'll never know). Fourth, I thank Tom Roberts for his bringing this to our attention. While it is saddening it does give hope. Certainly the final quote from this extraordinary leader is a challenge to all of us with catholic (small c) identity. And this leads to my final reaction: perhaps the beginning of Bishop Morris' message at the end should become a motto: "The church is the people...." It is already a manifesto for me.
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