The Catholic Bishop of Toowoomba, William Morris, has been effectively sacked by Pope Benedict XVI over doctrinal disobedience for his support for ordaining women priests and other liberal reform.
In a highly unusual move, Bishop Morris complained in a letter to his followers that he was leaving unwillingly and claimed he had been denied natural justice.
The developments have led to an incipient revolt among at least some sections of the church.
In the letter read out to all congregations in the diocese at weekend masses, pre-empting a Vatican announcement tonight, Bishop Morris, 67, said he had taken early retirement because "it has been determined by Pope Benedict that the diocese would be better served by the leadership of a new bishop".
It is understood that one of Brisbane's auxiliary bishops will step into the diocese temporarily as administrator until a new bishop is appointed. Bishops normally do not retire until at least 75.
Some Toowoomba Catholics left church in tears yesterday, and priests have called a meeting at St Patrick's Cathedral on Thursday to consider what action can be taken, including the possibility of a mass resignation of clergy. But one senior priest who has followed the bishop's controversial career said Bishop Morris had brought about his own demise because "you can't keep telling Rome to get stuffed".
Many parishioners arriving for mass last night were amazed and shocked about the letter.
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Bishop of Toowomba announces early retirement
2 comments:
Perhaps a Roman Ordinariate to attract discontented liberals?
Well the Pope is showing that he, like the Anglo-Catholic Anglicans who have joined the Roman church from the UK and elsewhere over ordination of women, but who tolerated homosexual clergy for decades, can do the same.
The Pope is also willing to forever tolerate and not remove a substantial number (some say more than half) of his priests, bishops and other religious who have disoriented sexual identities and activities, yet he will act quite rapidly purge the RC of one who suggests women and married men might make better pastors and role models than (wink) celibate gays.
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