Roman Catholic Diocese of Ballarat
Catholic ecclesiastical territory / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 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 cathedral is in St Patrick's Cathedral, Ballarat.
Diocese of Ballarat Dioecesis Ballaratensis | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | Australia |
Ecclesiastical province | Melbourne |
Metropolitan | Archdiocese of Melbourne |
Coordinates | 37°34′18″S 143°51′00″E |
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 | Catholic |
Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
Rite | Roman Rite |
Established | 30 March 1874 |
Cathedral | St Patrick's Cathedral |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Bishop | Paul Bird CSsR |
Metropolitan Archbishop | Peter Comensoli |
Bishops emeritus | Peter Connors |
Map | |
Website | |
ballarat.catholic.org.au |
The diocese has been prominent in Australia for its number of cases of sexual abuse by clergy and members of religious orders. In The New York Times in December 2017 it was stated that "The most damaging revelations about child sexual abuse have centered on scandals in towns like Ballarat" after the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse published its findings.[1] Priests and brothers in the Ballarat diocese were sharing victims, passing on intelligence about vulnerable children, and protecting each other: the abuse was more organised than previously thought since the Royal Commission.[2] A significant ruling in 2021, the first in Australia, found that the diocese can be vicariously liable for compensation regarding abuse that occurred from its own priests.[3]
In May 2020, newly released details of Royal Commission report claimed that former Diocese of Ballarat priest George Pell knew of sex abuse in the church as early as 1973.[4]