Roman Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba explained

Jurisdiction:Diocese
Toowoomba
Latin:Dioecesis Tuumbanus
Country:Australia
Metropolitan:Brisbane
Territory:Darling Downs and
South West regions of Queensland
Province:Province of Brisbane
Coordinates:-27.5614°N 151.9647°W
Area Km2:487,456
Population: 232,900
Population As Of:2004
Catholics: 65,912
Catholics Percent: 28.3%
Parishes: 35
Denomination:Roman Catholic
Rite:Latin Rite
Established:28 May 1929
Cathedral:St Patrick's Cathedral, Toowoomba
Patron:Mary of the Southern Cross, Blessed Virgin Mary
Priests:50
Bishop:Kenneth Howell
Bishop Title:Bishop
Emeritus Bishops:Robert McGuckin
William Morris
Map:Bistum Toowoomba.svg
Website:Roman Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba: is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Brisbane, established in 1929, covering the Darling Downs and south west regions of Queensland, Australia.

St Patrick's Cathedral is the seat of the Catholic Bishop of Toowoomba. The diocese covers an area of . with 48 priests and 57 members of religious orders. There are 77,400 Catholics among the 276,700 total population within the diocese's borders.

History

In 1929, the Diocese of Toowoomba was excised from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.[1]

Recent history

See main article: Bill Morris (bishop).

Bishop Bill Morris was appointed in 1992 to head the Toowoomba diocese. In 2006 he released a pastoral letter[2] calling for discussion of the ordination of married men and the ordination of women to compensate for the lack of priests in his large diocese.[3]

An apostolic visitation of the diocese was conducted by Charles J. Chaput OFM Cap., then Archbishop of Denver,[4] during April 2007. Discussions continued between Morris and the Vatican for several years.

On 1 May 2011, Bishop Morris announced his early retirement at age 67, stressing the fact that he had not resigned. On 2 May 2011, the Holy See removed Morris from pastoral care of the diocese, attracting international press coverage. The Holy See appointed Brian Vincent Finnigan, Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane, to serve as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese.[5]

On 14 May 2012, it was announced that Pope Benedict XVI had named the Reverend Monsignor Robert McGuckin as bishop-elect of the Toowoomba diocese. He was installed on 11 July.

On 24 May 2023, Pope Francis announced Bishop Kenneth Howell would be the Bishop of the Diocese of Toowoomba, after accepting the resignation of Bishop Robert McGuckin.[6]

Bishops

Ordinaries

The following have served as Bishops of Toowoomba:[7]

OrderNameDate enthronedReign endedTerm of officeReason for term end
28 May 1929 11 February 1938 Died in office
13 July 1938 14 October 1952 Resigned and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Toowoomba
7 August 1953 Died in office
Edward Francis Kelly, 19 December 1975 20 November 1992 Retired and appointed Bishop Emeritus
2 May 2011 Retired[8] [9] and appointed Bishop Emeritus
11 July 2012 24 May 2023 Retired and appointed Bishop Emeritus
24 May 2023 present

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

Parishes

There are currently 35 parishes in the diocese and 42 diocesan priests.

Schools

The diocese has the following schools:

Heritage listings

The diocese has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Sexual abuse

In February 2014 the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, a royal commission of inquiry initiated in 2013 by the Australian Government and supported by all of its state governments,[12] began an investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse and the response by the Diocesan Catholic Education Office.[13] The former Bishop of Toowoomba, Bill Morris, admitted that "there had been a number of significant systemic failings which led to the failure to properly deal with" the abuse of thirteen young girls at a Toowoomba Catholic primary School in 2007–08.[14]

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Our Story. Archdiocesan Profile. Archdiocese of Brisbane. 20 July 2013. 13 May 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130513073818/http://www.bne.catholic.net.au/asp/index.asp?pgid=11445&cid=7195&id=1708#history. live.
  2. Web site: Advent Pastoral letter . Morris, William Martin . Diocese of Toowoomba . 17 November 2006 . 4 October 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110930062406/http://www.twb.catholic.org.au/documents/bishop_morris_pastoral_letter_2006.pdf . 30 September 2011.
  3. News: Bishop of Toowoomba, William Morris, claims unfair dismissal by Pope . The Australian . Livingstone, Tess . Gearing, Amanda . 2 May 2011 . 4 November 2011 .
  4. News: Call to ordain women . The Courier-Mail . Australia . 4 January 2007 . 2 May 2011 . 11 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120411131146/http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/call-to-ordain-women/story-e6freoof-1111112782102 . live .
  5. Diocese of Toowoomba . Apostolic Nunciature to Australia . Canberra, Australia . 2 May 2011. 4 October 2011 . 29 September 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110929001128/http://www.catholic.org.au/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=1136 . live .
  6. Web site: Resignations and Appointments, 24.05.2023 . The Holy See . 25 May 2023.
  7. Web site: Diocese of Toowoomba . The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church . 21 May 2011 . 4 October 2011 . 11 October 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111011160548/http://catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dtoow.html . live .
  8. News: New document reveals years of Vatican efforts before ousting Toowoomba bishop . 10 May 2011 . Catholic News Agency . United States . 4 October 2011 . 12 September 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110912035903/http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/new-document-reveals-years-of-vatican-efforts-before-ousting-toowoomba-bishop/ . live .
  9. News: Backing bishop's sacking, Australian bishops cite doctrine and discipline issues . 13 May 2011 . Catholic News Agency . United States . 4 October 2011 . 17 August 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110817040521/http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/backing-bishops-sacking-australian-bishops-cite-doctrine-and-discipline-issues/ . live .
  10. 1 August 2014.
  11. 1 August 2014.
  12. Web site: Letters Patent. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. 12 January 2013. 22 August 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130822011715/http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/our-work/terms-of-reference/. dead.
  13. Web site: Case Study 6, February 2014, Brisbane . Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse . 2014 . 16 May 2015 . 16 May 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150516121621/http://childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/case-study/e424cf7d-250f-4a28-9cdc-367872e54651/case-study-4,-december-2013,-sydney . live .
  14. Web site: Royal Commission Toowoomba Hearing concludes > Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne: Church in Melbourne, Australia > News - Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne: Church in Melbourne, Australia . 25 February 2014 . 18 May 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150518103017/http://www.cam.org.au/News-and-Events/News-and-Events/News/Article/16290/Royal-Commission-Toowoomba-Hearing-concludes#.Uwz42Jg6jVt . live .