| Diocese of Townsville Dioecesis Tovnsvillensis |
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|---|---|
Sacred Heart Cathedral, Townsville, taken in 1903 after cyclone Leonta |
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| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| Territory | North Queensland |
| Ecclesiastical province | Province of Brisbane |
| Metropolitan | Brisbane |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 435,200 km2 (168,000 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2004) 252,289 74,084 ( 29.4%%) |
| Parishes | 27 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| Established | 12 February 1930 |
| Cathedral | Sacred Heart Cathedral, Townsville |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Benedict XVI |
| Bishop | Michael Putney |
| Website | |
| Catholic Diocese of Townsville | |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Townsville is a suffragan Latin rite diocese of the Archdiocese of Brisbane, erected in 1930, covering North Queensland, Australia.
Contents |
The following individuals have been elected as Roman Catholic Bishops of Townsville:[1]
| Order | Name | Date enthroned | Reign ended | Term of office | Reason for term end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Terence McGuire † | 12 February 1930 | 14 June 1938 | 8 years, 122 days | Appointed Bishop of Goulburn |
| 2 | Hugo Edward Ryan † | 13 July 1938 | 14 September 1967 | 29 years, 63 days | Retired and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Townsville |
| 3 | Leonard Anthony Faulkner † | 14 September 1967 | 2 September 1983 | 15 years, 353 days | Elevated as Coadjutor Archbishop of Adelaide |
| 4 | Raymond Conway Benjamin | 14 February 1984 | 18 April 2000 | 16 years, 64 days | Retired and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Townsville |
| 5 | Michael Putney | 24 January 2001 | incumbent | 11 years, 36 days | n/a |
The diocese is divided into four separate deaneries that administer individual parishes:[2]
In 2003 it was revealed that Neville Joseph Creen, a former priest, molested young girls while he served as a priest at Mount Isa, north-west Queensland, from 1973 to 1981. In Brisbane District Court on 12 September 2003, Creen (aged 63) was sentenced to three-and-half years' jail with a 14 month minimum after admitting to 34 indecent dealing charges involving 18 girls under the age of 13. One girl was aged just 5 when Creen abused her at a youth camp and later at the home of her grandparents. Creen pleaded guilty to a further six charges on 4 November 2004 and was sentenced to an additional two years jail.[3]
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