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	Bishop's Removal "Heavy-handed" By Tess Livingstone The Australian May 3, 2011 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/bishops-removal-heavy-handed/story-e6frg6nf-1226048742566 THE sacking of Toowoomba Catholic Bishop William Morris was a "heavy-handed exercise of ecclesiastical authority," Jesuit priest and lawyer Father Frank Brennan said yesterday. Father Brennan said questions had been raised about the orthodoxy of Bishop Morris, effectively sacked by the Pope for his support of the ordination of women and other Liberal reforms, after his ordination as bishop 18 years ago. In a widely circulated letter, Father Brennan said he had first known the bishop when he was secretary to Archbishop Francis Rush in Brisbane. He was "then a very successful parish priest of the huge Gold Coast parish" before being made bishop of Toowoomba in 1993. "His episcopal ordination was a wonderful occasion, even though after it, when I praised the liturgy, one of the visiting bishops said, 'Actually I prefer the Roman rite.' The lay participation in the liturgy was too much for some visiting ecclesiastics," Father Brennan said. Rebel Brisbane priest Peter Kennedy also lent his support to Bishop Morris, claiming his sacking was "appalling". But Catholic lawyer and chairman of the Ambrose Centre for Religious Liberty, Rocco Mimmo, said the sacking was right. "Diocesan bishops criticising the teachings and direction of the Catholic church and challenging the authority of the Holy Father damage the Catholic faith of their people," Mr Mimmo said. Under the church structure, Bishop Morris's removal was a matter for the Vatican because diocesan bishops, as the successors of Christ's apostles, are directly accountable to the Pope and not to more senior local archbishops or cardinals. Bishop Morris's ousting -- he was forced to retire at 67 when bishops normally remain in place until at least 75 -- was one move in what is becoming a larger shake-up of the church in Australia. Senior archbishops John Bathersby in Brisbane, Barry Hickey in Perth and Adrian Doyle in Hobart all turn 75 this year, the normal retirement age for bishops. Pundits believe the frontrunners for Brisbane are Bishop Michael Putney of Townsville and Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Canberra-Goulburn. In NSW, Pope Benedict XVI recently appointed an auxiliary bishop to Cardinal George Pell -- Peter Comensoli, who at 47 will be Australia's youngest bishop when he is ordained on June 8. Last month, the Pope accepted the retirement of Bishop Michael Malone of Maitland-Newcastle, who had to deal with extensive police investigations into allegations of child sexual abuse that resulted in the jailing of four priests.
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