By Petrina Berry
The Star
May 3, 2011
http://www.gattonstar.com.au/story/2011/05/03/vatican-doesnt-like-questions-bishop/
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| The Pope has accepted the forced resignation of a Queensland bishop condemned for his liberal views. |
A SACKED Queensland bishop has taken aim at the Vatican, saying it's becoming increasingly authoritarian, sidelining bishops in the process.
William Morris says he was forced to resign as the Bishop of Toowoomba over a letter to his parish in 2006, which discussed whether a shortage of priests could be overcome by the ordination of women and ministers from other churches.
A statement on the Catholic Church's website on Monday said Pope Benedict XVI had received and accepted the resignation of William Morris as the bishop of the Toowoomba diocese.
He will remain in the diocese as the Emeritus Bishop of Toowoomba.
On Tuesday, Bishop Morris insisted his letter did not advocate the two options but merely emphasised the need for the church to keep an open mind and engage in a wide-ranging debate.
He said he was not angry about his forced resignation but was "sad" and felt the Vatican hadn't given him, and therefore the community, a voice.
"If it hasn't given me a voice, it means it hasn't given the people a voice," he told ABC Radio.
"There's a creeping centralism in the church at the moment that everything is going to centralisation and there's a creeping authoritarianism."
He added: "I think in many ways local bishops have been sidelined."
He defended the content of his 2006 letter and said if the church changed its position on issues like the ordination of women, then he wouldn't have a problem with it.
But he said he would not act outside the church's official position.
"I wasn't advocating at all. What I was saying was we need to be opened to options ... which have been spoken about in discussions around the world," he said.
He said he first raised the debate in the late '90s to a congregation of bishops, and continued to talk about the issue over the next four or five years, something that had clearly upset church leaders.
"I don't think (the Vatican) likes questions," he said.
"Once they make a decision in a particular area ... when you start asking questions you're seen to be dissenting."
Bishop Morris said he was denied a chance to defend the claims against him, and questioned why there was no right of recourse for bishops to challenge sackings by the Vatican.
Auxiliary Bishop of Brisbane Brian Finnigan has been appointed to administer the Toowoomba diocese while a permanent replacement is found.
In a statement on Tuesday, Bishop Finnigan praised his predecessor's handling of the sexual abuse of 13 young girls at the hand of a former Catholic primary school teacher in the Toowoomba diocese during 2007 and 2008.
"The scourge of sexual abuse has confronted the diocese," Bishop Finnigan said in a statement.
"The good work that Bishop Morris has done to address the needs of the victims will continue into the future."
The former teacher, 61, admitted last year to the abuse.
Bishop Morris immediately accepted legal liability for the abuse and the church entered into mediation with the victims.
Father Peter Dorfield, the vicar general of the Toowoomba diocese, says Bishop Morris's forced resignation had nothing to do with the sexual abuse cases.
"He's done an excellent job in listening to them and helping them as they choose to make appropriate civil court resolutions," Fr Dorfield told AAP.
Fr Dorfield said that, compared to what Bishop Morris did for the community, his sacking over his 2006 letter seemed trivial.
Catholics in southwest Queensland are expected to hold a candlelight vigil at Queens' Park on Tuesday afternoon outside Bishop Morris' home.
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