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Keywords: Bill Morris

  • 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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  • RELIGION

    What difference does it make now that Mary MacKillop is a saint?

    • Frank Brennan
    • 14 October 2011

    Mary visited Rome as a young religious woman when she was being persecuted by local bishops for being too independent. She got a good hearing from the Pope and great assistance from Fr Anderledy who became the Superior General of the Jesuits. If only Bishop Bill Morris could have received the same sympathetic hearing.

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  • RELIGION

    Revitalising a 'hollowed-out' Church

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 13 October 2011
    25 Comments

    Most churches are ageing and limited in their ability to engage with governments. As well as controvesies such as the Bill Morris dismissal and the handling of sexual abuse, the Australian Bishops visiting Rome this week will discuss ways to build on the strenghts of the Church in Australia.

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  • RELIGION

    Making friends not foes of rights and religion

    • Frank Brennan
    • 13 September 2011
    5 Comments

    The Church of the 21st century should be the exemplar of due process, natural justice and transparency. While there can be little useful critique of the final decision of Pope Benedict to force the early retirement of Bishop Bill Morris, there is plenty of scope to review the processes leading up to it.

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  • RELIGION

    Democracy in the Church

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 21 July 2011
    30 Comments

    A petition circulating among Australian Catholics offers a sombre picture of the state of the Church. To some Catholics petitions seem inappropriate. But they have the value once attributed to canaries in the mineshaft: their witness is dismissed at the mine owners' peril.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Bill Morris and Simon Overland in exile

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 20 June 2011
    22 Comments

    Whatever his failings, former Victorian Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland was a patently good man. His resignation followed a disedifying and concerted campaign against him by media groups, the police union, some of his colleagues and many politicians. It is hard to see any good coming out of this affair.

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  • RELIGION

    An Anglican angle on Toowoomba

    • Andrew McGowan
    • 19 May 2011
    14 Comments

    Anglican bishops are not appointed more democratically or transparently than Roman Catholic bishops, although there are better-known processes and lines of accountability. And they would have better legal redress should anyone try to get rid of them.

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  • RELIGION

    No justice for Toowoomba's shepherd

    • Frank Brennan
    • 17 May 2011
    31 Comments

    I have known Bill Morris as priest and bishop for 30 years. He is a good man — no flash academic but the most down to earth pastoral guy you could meet. His forced departure from Toowoomba has been some years in the coming. He is right to claim that he has been denied natural justice.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Bishops sad not mad over Morris sacking

    • Michael Mullins
    • 16 May 2011
    17 Comments

    While the Australian bishops' letter indicates that they accept the decision to sack former bishop of Toowoomba Bill Morris, there is nothing to suggest that they agree. In fact they carefully distance themselves from the decision.

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  • RELIGION

    Trust at stake in Toowoomba

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 16 May 2011
    38 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.

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  • RELIGION

    Papal power in Toowoomba

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 05 May 2011
    54 Comments

    Modern societies rightly put much weight on transparency. Its absence is taken to discredit the institutions in which it is lacking. After the forced resignation of Bishop Morris it will be even harder for Catholics to win a hearing on issues that affect the public order.

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