Vatican visitor, Archbishop Charles Chaput, obediently did what he was supposed to do: send a hard and electronic copy of his report on Bishop William Morris and the Toowoomba diocese to the dicastery for bishops, and then destroy the originals.
So, reveals the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) editor at larger, Thomas Fox, in his weekend column.
“At least in the mock trials in China and Iran, charges are read aloud before the victim is carted away, never to be heard from again.” Fox wrote.
“I keep praying there is something here I simply do not get, some missing link that will help make sense of this. Because to date the actions involved here are most unbecoming of decent people and out of line with what one might associate with Christian community”, he says.
Chaput told NCR the secrecy was to protect all involved.
Morris, sacked after Vatican inspector Chaput’s three day visit to his Toowoomba diocese, would rather the report was made public.
“I’ve nothing to hide”, Morris said.
Meanwhile documents obtained by The Record, the Perth archdiocesan newspaper, reveal that Bishop Morris was asked to resign six times by three Vatican congregations and Pope Benedict before the pontiff finally insisted that he leave office on 2 May.
While supporting the Pope as head of the College of Bishops, Australia’s bishops have called the process “difficult and distressing”.
Sources
- NCR
- ucanews.com
- Image: CathNews USA