Vatican City, Oct 22, 2011 / 10:39 am
The Australian Catholic bishops’ delegation to Rome has issued a statement about the Vatican’s response to the dissenting Bishop of Toowoomba. They described their multiple “candid” meetings with Vatican officials about the matter and urged the healing of divisions.
“What was at stake was the Church’s unity in faith and the ecclesial communion between the Pope and the other bishops in the College of Bishops,” said the Australian bishops’ Oct. 22 statement.
Because Bishop Bill Morris of Toowoomba was “unable to agree to what this communion requires,” they said, Pope Benedict XVI “acted as the Successor of Peter, who has the task of deciding what constitutes unity and communion in the Church.”
The Australian bishops said their recent meetings with Vatican officials have given them a more adequate understanding of the actions taken to try to resolve “the difficulties with Bishop Morris.”