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Cardinal Pell says Bishop Morris sacking ‘a tragedy’ but also ‘a useful clarification’
By David Kerr
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Sydney, Australia, May 28, 2011 / 04:58 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- It’s been nearly a month since Bishop Bill Morris of Toowoomba in Australia was dismissed from office by Pope Benedict XVI. Now the country’s most senior Catholic, Cardinal George Pell of Sydney, has given his first in-depth interview on the controversial sacking to CNA.
“Well, it was a tragedy. It should never have come to this,” Cardinal Pell told CNA while on a visit to Rome.
“Rome was very patient. You could say the dialogue had continued on for 13 years and unfortunately Bishop Morris felt unable to give satisfactory clarifications.”
Bishop Morris’s dismissal followed comments he made in a 2006 pastoral letter. In it he called for the ordination of women and married men, and suggested that protestant ministers could offer Mass to compensate for the lack of priests in his diocese. This in turn led the Vatican to order an investigation.
“Catholics stand with the Pope as the successor of Peter and his role is to strengthen his brothers and to defend the apostolic tradition, and it’s now Catholic teaching that women cannot be ordained priests. That’s not an optional belief; it’s now part of the Catholic package,” said Cardinal Pell.
Critics of the bishop who’ve spoken in recent weeks to CNA suggest that the problems in Toowoomba went far beyond the bishop’s public disagreement with Catholic doctrine on the priesthood.
They’ve claimed Bishop Morris - who preferred a shirt and tie to a priestly collar and bishops’ attire - did much to undermine Catholic identity and teachings during his 18 years in office.
Cardinal Pell was both balanced and charitable in his assessment of Bishop Morris’s legacy.
catholicnewsagency.com/news/cardinal-pell-says-bishop-morris-sacking-a-tragedy-but-also-a-useful-clarification/
By David Kerr
0 Comments
Related articles:
Pell, George*
Interview with Cardinal Ratzinger
Pope John Paul II Letter to Cardinal Bernard Law
Interview of the Holy Father Benedict XVI during the flight to the Holy Land
Sydney, Australia, May 28, 2011 / 04:58 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- It’s been nearly a month since Bishop Bill Morris of Toowoomba in Australia was dismissed from office by Pope Benedict XVI. Now the country’s most senior Catholic, Cardinal George Pell of Sydney, has given his first in-depth interview on the controversial sacking to CNA.
“Well, it was a tragedy. It should never have come to this,” Cardinal Pell told CNA while on a visit to Rome.
“Rome was very patient. You could say the dialogue had continued on for 13 years and unfortunately Bishop Morris felt unable to give satisfactory clarifications.”
Bishop Morris’s dismissal followed comments he made in a 2006 pastoral letter. In it he called for the ordination of women and married men, and suggested that protestant ministers could offer Mass to compensate for the lack of priests in his diocese. This in turn led the Vatican to order an investigation.
“Catholics stand with the Pope as the successor of Peter and his role is to strengthen his brothers and to defend the apostolic tradition, and it’s now Catholic teaching that women cannot be ordained priests. That’s not an optional belief; it’s now part of the Catholic package,” said Cardinal Pell.
Critics of the bishop who’ve spoken in recent weeks to CNA suggest that the problems in Toowoomba went far beyond the bishop’s public disagreement with Catholic doctrine on the priesthood.
They’ve claimed Bishop Morris - who preferred a shirt and tie to a priestly collar and bishops’ attire - did much to undermine Catholic identity and teachings during his 18 years in office.
Cardinal Pell was both balanced and charitable in his assessment of Bishop Morris’s legacy.
catholicnewsagency.com/news/cardinal-pell-says-bishop-morris-sacking-a-tragedy-but-also-a-useful-clarification/
