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Top Catholic job still empty after four months
By Jordan Baker
CATHOLICISM’S top job in Australia remains vacant almost four months after Cardinal George Pell said he was heading to Rome, despite the Vatican saying his replacement would be fast-tracked. Some church watchers believe the delay is due to tension over the appointment, which comes as senior clergy are grilled over their response to child sexual abuse at the royal commission. Many in the Catholic Church believe an announcement is imminent. But if a new Archbishop of Sydney is not announced in the next few weeks, the key position will likely remain empty until September because Rome shuts down during the hot months of July and August. Former priest Paul Collins said the four-month wait might point to problems. “It’s taking some time, which probably means there’s something of a tussle going on,” he said. Cardinal Pell will be highly influential in the selection of his replacement. He is the only Australian member of the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops, which will recommend a candidate for Sydney to the Pope. He backs the youthful Parramatta Bishop Anthony Fisher, who shares his views on ideological matters. But Pope Francis has also recently revealed the priestly qualities he prefers, which are at odds with Cardinal Pell’s choice. He wants “shepherds living with the smell of sheep” — hands-on rather than career or bookish priests. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will also be a factor in the decision, as the new archbishop will need credibility on the issue, Jesuit priest Father Frank Brennan said. “I would have thought that prior to the election of the Pope, the two key candidates would be Bishop Fisher of Parramatta and Archbishop [Mark] Coleridge of Brisbane,” Fr Brennan said. “Given the appointment of Pope Francis, they might look further afield. One who looks quite attractive is Bishop Bill Wright, of Newcastle-Maitland. He started as a diocesan [parish] priest in Sydney.” Others say he is haunted by comments he made while organiser of World Youth Day, when he described a family speaking out about their two daughters being raped by a priest as “a few people dwelling crankily . . . on old wounds”. Archbishop Coleridge is also widely respected but doesn’t “smell of sheep” either, as he has moved from Melbourne to Canberra and then to Brisbane. Bishop Wright worked as a suburban priest in Sydney and is seen to have handled the Newcastle child sex abuse inquiry well. In choosing an archbishop, the apostolic nuncio (Vatican representative in Australia) chooses three candidates, and the Congregation for Bishops selects one name to give to the Pope. The Pope can reject their suggestion. Since the 1960s the Archbishop of Sydney has always eventually become a cardinal, with voting rights in Rome. Many bishops are due to retire — about 10 more will be needed within 18 months. The Archbishop of Sydney does not need to be a bishop already, but he usually is.
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