Latin Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Australia
The Archdiocese of Hobart is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Australia located in Hobart and covering Tasmania, Australia.
Immediately exempt to the Holy See, the area covered was initially administered by the Vicariate Apostolic of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land. In 1842, the Vicariate Apostolic of Hobart was erected; elevated as a diocese a few weeks later; and as an archdiocese in 1888.
St Mary's Cathedral is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Hobart, currently Julian Porteous.
History
Established 5 April 1842 as the Vicariate Apostolic of Hobart and became Diocese of Hobart on 22 April 1842.
On 3 August 1888 as the Archdiocese of Hobart.
Bishops
The following individuals have been appointed as Bishops of Hobart or any of its precursor titles:[1]
| Order
|
Name
|
Title
|
Date enthroned
|
Reign ended
|
Term of office
|
Reason for term end
|
| 1 |
Robert Willson † |
Bishop of Hobart |
22 April 1842 |
16 February 1866 |
23 years, 300 days |
Resigned and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Hobart
|
| 2 |
Daniel Murphy † |
Coadjutor Bishop of Hobart |
14 November 1865 |
8 March 1866 |
114 days |
Succeeded as Bishop of Hobart
|
| Bishop of Hobart |
8 March 1866 |
3 August 1888 |
22 years, 148 days |
Elevated as Archbishop of Hobart
|
| Archbishop of Hobart |
3 August 1888 |
29 December 1907 |
19 years, 148 days |
Died in office
|
| 3 |
Patrick Delany † |
Coadjutor Archbishop of Hobart |
15 June 1893 |
29 December 1907 |
14 years, 197 days |
Succeeded as Archbishop of Hobart
|
| Archbishop of Hobart |
29 December 1907 |
7 May 1926 |
18 years, 129 days |
Died in office
|
| 4 |
William Barry † |
Coadjutor Archbishop of Hobart |
7 April 1919 |
8 May 1926 |
7 years, 31 days |
Succeeded as Archbishop of Hobart
|
| Archbishop of Hobart |
8 May 1926 |
13 June 1929 |
3 years, 36 days |
Died in office
|
| 5 |
William Hayden † |
11 February 1930 |
2 October 1936 |
6 years, 234 days |
Died in office
|
| 6 |
Justin Simonds † |
18 February 1937 |
6 September 1942 |
5 years, 200 days |
Appointed as Coadjutor Archbishop of Melbourne
|
| 7 |
Ernest Victor Tweedy † |
7 December 1942 |
20 September 1955 |
12 years, 287 days |
Resigned and appointed Archbishop Emeritus of Hobart
|
| 8 |
Guilford Clyde Young † |
Coadjutor Archbishop of Hobart |
10 October 1954 |
20 September 1955 |
345 days |
Succeeded as Archbishop of Hobart
|
| Archbishop of Hobart |
20 September 1955 |
16 March 1988 |
32 years, 178 days |
Died in office
|
| 9 |
Eric D'Arcy † |
24 October 1988 |
26 July 1999 |
10 years, 275 days |
Retired and appointed Archbishop Emeritus of Hobart
|
| 10 |
Adrian Leo Doyle |
Coadjutor Archbishop of Hobart |
10 November 1997 |
26 July 1999 |
1 year, 258 days |
Succeeded as Archbishop of Hobart
|
| Archbishop of Hobart |
26 July 1999 |
19 July 2013 |
13 years, 358 days |
Retired
|
| 11 |
Julian Porteous |
17 September 2013 |
present |
10 years, 159 days |
Incumbent
|
The above table also includes coadjutors, all of whom later served in this see. There was another coadjutor, with appointment not taking effect: Thomas Butler † , appointed Coadjutor Bishop on 13 Mar 1860.
Other priests of this diocese who became bishops
Cathedral
St Mary's Cathedral, Hobart is the cathedral for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hobart.
Monasteries
Notre Dame Priory is a Benedictine monastery in Colebrook, Tasmania, Australia, founded in 2017 which is part of the Archdiocese.
Controversy
In 2007 Gregory Ferguson, a Marist priest, was sentenced to two years jail (eligible for parole after 12 months) for offences in 1971 against two boys aged 13 at Marist College, Burnie, Tasmania. On 13 December 2007 he was sentenced to an additional three years' jail for offences against a third boy.[2]
While in 2008, a jury found former priest Roger Michael Bellemore guilty on three counts of maintaining a sexual relationship with a young person under the age of 17 years in the 1960s and 1970s, while he was at the same College.[3]
In 2015, Archbishop Julian Porteous was notified that a complaint had been filed with the office of Tasmania's Anti-discrimination Commissioner in relation to the distribution in all Tasmanian Catholic schools of a booklet, Don't Mess with Marriage, stating marriage should be a "heterosexual union between a man and a woman" and changing the law would endanger a child's upbringing. The complaint was filed by a transgender activist and Federal Greens candidate Martine Delaney. The complaint was called "'an attempt to silence' the Church over same-sex marriage" by Archbishop Porteous.[4] The complaint was treated as a possible breach of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 (Tas), and sparked fierce debate on the issues of freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and tolerance. The complaint was ultimately withdrawn.[5]
It has been reported that, "The real problem with the Porteous case was that it was unresolved".[6]
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