| Type: | Bishop |
| Honorific-Prefix: | The Most Reverend |
| William John Brennan | |
| 4th Roman Catholic Bishop | |
| Diocese: | Wagga Wagga |
| Enthroned: | 16 January 1984 |
| Ended: | 5 February 2002 |
| Predecessor: | Francis Carroll |
| Successor: | Gerard Hanna |
| Ordination: | 21 December 1960 (Priest) |
| Consecration: | 5 February 1984 (Bishop) |
| Birth Date: | 16 February 1938 |
| Birth Place: | Arncliffe, New South Wales, Australia |
| Death Place: | Randwick, New South Wales, Australia |
| Buried: | Crypt of St Michael's Cathedral, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. |
| Religion: | Roman Catholic Church |
| Parents: | Elvie and John Brennan |
| Occupation: | Roman Catholic bishop |
William John Brennan (16 February 1938 – 31 August 2013[1]) was an Australian Roman Catholic bishop.
Ordained to the priesthood in 1960, Brennan was named the fourth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wagga Wagga, Australia in 1984. Brennan resigned in 2002 due to illness.[2] He suffered a "massive stroke" (page 303) in November 2001.[3]
Cardinal George Pell wrote that "despite a dour public persona, Brennan was good company and a fine raconteur. A formidable opponent, he was personally courteous, kind to his priests and universally respected by his brother bishops for his loyalty, competence and hard work for the conference, despite the fact that a majority disagreed with a good part of his theological views and proposed remedies. He knew that reform is never accomplished without division, incomprehension and sometimes bitter opposition. He confronted this courageously, without any melodrama, but it took a toll on his health".[4]
On 31 August 2013, Brennan, at the age of 75, died at Little Sisters of the Poor Nursing Home in Randwick, New South Wales.[5] [6] Two of Brennan's sisters were Ursuline nuns. One of them, Sister Therese, lovingly dedicated herself to his daily personal care after his stroke. His funeral service was held in St Michael's Cathedral, Wagga Wagga and he was interred in the crypt.
Brennan was one of the first leaders of the Gospel fightback in Catholic Australia. In catechetical circles the prevailing line was that "transubstantiation" was too long and formal a word to be used with young people. Brennan thought this was "nonsense" (page 304) and said "it has the same number of syllables as reconciliation" (page 304). Brennan served as Diocesan Inspector of Schools. He understood the necessity of Catholic content in catechesis. This realisation was another driving force during his time as bishop, where he developed and refined a new R.E. syllabus, "We belong to the Lord".[7]