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	Bill Morris and the "Haemorrhaging" Church By Pat Power Eureka Street October 27 , 2011 http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=28806 This letter was written in August as a response to the pain of the Toowoomba Catholics, a group of whom had written to the Australian Bishops in the aftermath of Bishop Bill Morris' sacking. Many of the questions that letter raised are on the hearts of lots of faithful and loyal Catholics across Australia in these days. I was not at the recent Ad Limina visit in Rome, but I feel for many of the Australian Bishops who must have found themselves in an extremely difficult position following the meetings at the Vatican. I know that many of them have similar deep concerns as I do over the treatment of one our best brother bishops. I am responding to your 3 August letter with the accompanying petition containing 2722 signatures expressing concern around a number of aspects of the forced retirement of Bishop William Morris. I note from your letter that a further 411 signatures have since been added. At the outset, I wish to express my deep disappointment at the treatment Bishop Morris has received. Like you, I see him and the whole diocese as being victims of a great miscarriage of justice. When I gave the priests' retreat in Toowoomba in 2003, when I spent time in the diocese during the National Council of Priests Convention in 2006 and in many other instances when I have observed with admiration so many positive features of the diocese, I have consistently been given the impression not only that the Diocese of Toowoomba was 'in good shape' but that it was responding positively to the Second Vatican Council's vision for the Church today. i I saw Bishop Morris' inspiring leadership as being an integral part of such a healthy local Church. I noted too the strong bonds of communion existing between bishop, clergy and the faithful. My observations showed a far-flung diocese doing everything possible to see that individual and community needs were being met in Christ-like fashion with healthy ecumenical and community relations and with a real care for issues of justice, peace and development. In an age when so many people both within and outside the Catholic fold are asking legitimate questions about the life of the Church today, Bishop Morris courageously gave voice to such issues. Among his strengths are that he is a good listener, that he has never lost touch with the 'joys and the hopes, the griefs and anxieties' of his people, and that he courageously attempts to have the Church respond as Jesus himself would have done. As a close friend of Bishop Morris and sharing his vision for the Church today, I have been aware for a number of years of his problems with the Holy See. I have admired the way in which he has loyally done everything possible to remain in communion with the Pope as the successor of Peter. I admired how step by step he tried to have an honest conversation with Vatican officials and finally with the Pope himself. I do not believe that he always felt that there was genuine reciprocity in the dialogue. Surely in a healthy Church we should be able to 'speak the truth in love'. I do not believe any of us are doing justice to the mission of Jesus when we neglect to name the issues which are haemorrhaging the Church at the moment. Our current woes around sexual abuse should provide important lessons here. It is not insignificant that Bishop Morris provided excellent leadership in this domain locally, nationally and internationally. I note your questions to the Australian Bishops Permanent Committee which met earlier this month. I note from the minutes of that Committee that its members are resolved to take up your issues as part of the upcoming Ad Limina visit to Rome. For my part, I wish to express my solidarity with all the people of Toowoomba Diocese in these difficult times. I add my voice to Bishop Morris' plea for you not to walk away from the Church as you might be tempted to do. It is your spiritual home as much as it is Pope Benedict's. Like Bishop Morris we all need to act with faith, hope and love and with his passion for truth and justice. More than ever, our world today needs the message of Jesus. You people of Toowoomba are in a unique position to witness to that in the best of the Catholic tradition.
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