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Keywords: Bishop Morris

  • RELIGION

    Re-balancing authority in the abusive Church

    • Brian Lennon
    • 18 May 2012
    47 Comments

    Church structures are riddled with patriarchy, clericalism and deference, and these were at the centre of the abuse problem. Repentance, then, means changing these. Lay people in particular, who are less subject to Vatican strictures, need to bring to the table their skills and knowledge to drive this change.

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  • RELIGION

    Nuns bucked by papal bulls

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 24 April 2012
    65 Comments

    Tensions between enterprising women religious and church authorities go back a long way. Last week's Vatican action against women religious in the US raises the same questions about respect and process as did the dismissal of Bishop Morris in Toowoomba. But its potential consequences are much larger.

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  • RELIGION

    An exemplar of Queensland Catholicism

    • Frank Brennan
    • 03 April 2012
    7 Comments

    In the south people love to compare Sydney and Melbourne Catholicism, as if there is no other. But no one does Catholicism quite as ecumenically, quite as incarnationally, and quite as laidback as in Queensland. There is something distinctive and admirable in it, and it is summed up in the life of Fr John Dobson.

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  • RELIGION

    Revelations shed new light on Bill Morris dismissal

    • Frank Brennan
    • 28 March 2012
    57 Comments

    Some think last year's dismissal of William Morris as Bishop of Toowoomba was just a storm in a teacup and that it is time to move on. This is a serious misreading of the signs of the times. More details have come to light showing how threadbare and confused the processes were that led to the dismissal.

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  • RELIGION

    John XXIII's half century challenge

    • Frank Brennan
    • 27 March 2012
    3 Comments

    Full text from Fr Frank Brennan SJ's address 'Bringing the modern world into contact with the vivifying and perennial energies of the gospel (John XXIII's half century challenge)' at the Catalyst for Renewal Dinner, Hunters Hill, 23 March 2012.

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  • RELIGION

    Justice, the Church and the Ignatian tradition

    • Frank Brennan
    • 19 March 2012

    Text from Fr Frank Brennan SJ's Lenten presentation 'Justice, the Church and the Ignatian tradition' at St Ignatius Parish, Norwood, 13 March 2012 and St Michael's, Clare, 14 March 2012.

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  • RELIGION

    Morris affair contains lessons for Church hierarchy

    • Frank Brennan
    • 25 January 2012
    57 Comments

    Just because there is no legal remedy to the denial of natural justice to former bishop Bill Morris, that is no reason for the senior hierarchy not to reflect acutely on their treatment of him. Respectful dialogue with Toowoomba's church leaders would be a good start. 

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  • RELIGION

    Bill Morris and natural justice

    • Andrew Hamilon
    • 23 January 2012
    40 Comments

    The reports by a retired judge and a canon lawyer into the dismissal of Bishop Morris make disturbing reading. Given that the obligation of natural justice carries moral as well as legal weight, Morris was entitled to expect his right to it would be respected by the Vatican.

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  • RELIGION

    Best of 2011: Trust at stake in Toowoomba

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 12 January 2012
    10 Comments

    The treatment of Bishop Bill Morris risks further blurring the image of the Church. The story told of a good man who encouraged his church, who was resolute in dealing with sexual abuse, but was removed in an untransparent process, will confirm many in their distrust of the Church. Published 15 May 2011

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  • RELIGION

    Sharing the journey with agnostics and Qantas

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 03 November 2011
    27 Comments

    The Pope believes agnostics and Christians are on a shared journey, committed to peace and human dignity. The concept of the shared journey has consequences for the life of the Church, as in the Bishop Bill Morris saga, but also for events such as the Qantas controversy.

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  • INFORMATION

    Bill Morris and the 'haemorrhaging' Church

    • Pat Power
    • 28 October 2011
    40 Comments

    As a close friend I have been aware for a number of years of his problems with the Holy See. I admired how he tried to have an honest conversation with Vatican officials and finally with the Pope himself. I do not believe he always felt there was genuine reciprocity in the dialogue.

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  • RELIGION

    Closing the case of Bishop Bill Morris

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 25 October 2011
    86 Comments

    The issues raised by Bishop Bill Morris' dismissal were not about the Pope's right to act, but about the transparency of the process. The Australian Bishops' letter about the matter is an act of closure. But troubling questions remain. 

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