Roman Catholic Diocese of Ballarat

Diocese of Ballarat Dioecesis Ballaratensis
St Patrick's Cathedral, Ballarat
Location
Country	Australia
Ecclesiastical province	Melbourne
Metropolitan	Archdiocese of Melbourne
Coordinates	37°34′18″S 143°51′00″E / 37.57167°S 143.85000°E / -37.57167; 143.85000
Statistics
Area	58,000 km2 (22,000 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2006) 384,000 97,900 ( 25.2%)
Parishes	52
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Latin Rite
Established	30 March 1874
Cathedral	St Patrick's Cathedral
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Paul Bird CSsR
Metropolitan Archbishop	Denis Hart
Emeritus Bishops	Peter Connors
Website
Catholic Diocese of Ballarat

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ballarat, based in Ballarat, Australia, is a diocese in the ecclesiastical province of Melbourne. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Melbourne and was established in 1874. Its geography covers the west, Wimmera and Mallee regions of Victoria. The cathedra is in St Patrick's Cathedral, Ballarat.

History

The Diocese of Ballarat was established on 30 March 1874, from the Diocese of Melbourne. At the same time, the Diocese of Melbourne was made an archdiocese while Ballarat became one of its suffragans.

Bishop Peter Connors retired as Bishop of Ballarat on 1 August 2012 and Father Paul Bird CSsR was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to succeed him.^[1] He was ordained bishop on 16 October 2012. Bishop Paul Bird (born 17 July 1949) is a member of the missionary Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorist).^[2]

Ordinaries

The following individuals were elected as Roman Catholic Bishop of Ballarat:^[3]

Order	Name	Date enthroned	Reign ended	Term of office	Reason for term end
7000100000000000000♠1	Michael O'Connor †	24 April 1874	14 February 1883	7008278035200000000♠8 years, 296 days	Died in office
7000200000000000000♠2	James Moore †	12 January 1884	26 June 1904	7008645494400000000♠20 years, 166 days	Died in office
7000300000000000000♠3	Joseph Higgins †	3 March 1905	16 September 1915	7008332596800000000♠10 years, 197 days	Died in office
7000400000000000000♠4	Daniel Foley †	12 April 1916	31 October 1941	7008806392800000000♠25 years, 202 days	Died in office
7000500000000000000♠5	James O'Collins †	23 December 1941	1 May 1971	7008926316000000000♠29 years, 129 days	Retired at age 79. Bishop Emeritus of Ballarat. Died 25 November 1983[4]
7000600000000000000♠6	Ronald Austin Mulkearns	1 May 1971	30 May 1997	7008823003200000000♠26 years, 29 days	Resigned. Bishop Emeritus of Ballarat[5]
7000700000000000000♠7	Peter Joseph Connors	30 May 1997	1 August 2012	7008478807200000000♠15 years, 63 days	Retired at age 75. Bishop Emeritus of Ballarat[6]
7000800000000000000♠8	Paul Bird	1 August 2012		7008111088800000000♠3 years, 190 days

Other information

The diocese is bounded by the South Australian border (the Archdiocese of Adelaide and the Diocese of Port Pirie), the Murray River (the Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes) and the Southern Ocean. To the east is the Diocese of Sandhurst and the Archdiocese of Melbourne. The diocese has 52 parishes, 39 clergy and four parish leaders. The seat of the diocese is St Patrick's Cathedral, Ballarat.

Child sexual abuse scandal controversies

The Diocese of Ballarat has been part of the Catholic sexual abuse scandal, which are a series of convictions, trials and ongoing investigations into allegations of sex crimes committed by Catholic priests and members of religious orders.^[7] In 2012 the Parliament of Victoria established the Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other Non-Government Organisations. The Inquiry tabled its response to Parliament on 13 November 2013 and the Government tabled its response to the Inquiry's recommendations on 8 May 2014.^[8]

The systemic problem of sexual abuse was highlighted in the Victoria's Police Submission into the parliamentary inquiry into the handling of child abuse by churches:^[9]

"Confidential police reports detail the suicides of at least 40 people sexually abused by Catholic clergy in Victoria and say it appeared the church knew about a shockingly high rate of suicides and premature deaths but had chosen to remain silent.^[10]

Cardinal George Pell also confirmed in the Victorian parliamentary inquiry that "some members of the Church tried to cover up child sexual abuse by other members of the clergy" as the ABC states.^[11]

There have been 130 claims and substantiated complaints of child sexual abuse against the Ballarat diocese since 1980. At least 14 priests of the Diocese of Ballarat have been the subject of one or more claims and substantiated complaints of child sex abuse.^[12]

In May 2015 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,^[13] began an investigation into the response of relevant Catholic Church authorities to the impact of child sexual abuse on survivors of child sexual abuse, their families and the community of Ballarat.^[14] The hearing heard from residents, former students of St Joseph's Home, Ballarat; St Alipius Primary School, Ballarat East; St Alipius Parish, Ballarat East; St Patrick's College, Ballarat; St Patrick's Christian Brothers Boys Primary School, Ballarat; and members of the Ballarat community about the impact of child sexual abuse on the community of Ballarat. Catholic clergy who were convicted of child sexual offences which took place within the geographical bounds of the Diocese of Ballarat also were invited to speak or make statements before the commission.^[15]

Notable sexual abuse cases include:

• Gerald Ridsdale, who pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting a total of 41 children (comprising 40 boys and one girl)^[16] and is facing further charges.^[17] Ridsdale's nephew, David Ridsdale, gave evidence before the commission that his uncle had sexually abused him from the age of 11 to 15. The commission is continuing.^[18][19]
• Robert Charles Best, a Christian Brother, was sentenced in the Victorian County Court for 27 offences involving the sexual abuse of 11 boys.^[20][21]
• Stephen Frances Farrell, a Christian Brother, was sentenced in 2013 for indecently assaulting a boy while teaching at St Alipius School in Ballarat in the mid 1970s. This conviction followed a 1997 conviction on nine charges of indecently assaulting two brothers at St Alipius around the same period.^[22]
• Paul David Ryan jailed in 2006 for 18 months after admitting three charges of indecent assault against one victim between 1990 and 1991.^[23]
• Sydney Morey^[24]
• Terrence Pidoto^[24]
• Bryan Coffey^[25]
• Leslie Sheahan^[26]
• Robert Claffey^[27][28]

See also

• Roman Catholicism in Australia

References

External links

• Catholic Diocese of Ballarat
•  "Ballarat". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 

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