- Roman Catholic Diocese of Townsville
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Diocese of Townsville
Dioecesis Tovnsvillensis
Sacred Heart Cathedral, Townsville,
taken in 1903 after cyclone LeontaLocation Country Australia Territory North Queensland Ecclesiastical province Province of Brisbane Metropolitan Brisbane Coordinates 19°15′32″S 146°48′42″E / 19.25889°S 146.81167°E Statistics Area 435,200 km2 (168,000 sq mi) Population
- Total
- Catholics(as of 2004)
252,289
74,084 ( 29.4%%)Parishes 
27Information Denomination Roman Catholic Rite Latin Rite Established 12 February 1930 Cathedral Sacred Heart Cathedral, Townsville Current leadership Pope Benedict XVI Bishop Michael Putney Website Catholic Diocese of Townsville The Roman Catholic Diocese of Townsville is a suffragan Latin rite diocese of the Archdiocese of Brisbane, erected in 1930, covering North Queensland, Australia.
Contents
History
Ordinaries
The following individuals have been elected as Roman Catholic Bishops of Townsville:[1]
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Order Name Date enthroned Reign ended Term of office Reason for term end 1 Terence McGuire † 12 February 1930 14 June 1938 8 years, 122 days Appointed Bishop of Goulburn 2 Hugo Edward Ryan † 13 July 1938 14 September 1967 29 years, 63 days Retired and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Townsville 3 Leonard Anthony Faulkner † 14 September 1967 2 September 1983 15 years, 353 days Elevated as Coadjutor Archbishop of Adelaide 4 Raymond Conway Benjamin 14 February 1984 18 April 2000 16 years, 64 days Retired and appointed Bishop Emeritus of Townsville 5 Michael Putney 24 January 2001 incumbent 10 years, 299 days n/a
Parishes
The diocese is divided into four separate deaneries that administer individual parishes:[2]
- Townsville deanery with regular liturgical services held in Sacred Heart Cathedral, Castle Chill (St Joseph), Cranbrook (Holy Spirit), Deeragun (St Anthony), Gulliver (Holy Family), Kirwan (The Good Shepherd), Magnetic Island (St Joan of Arc), Mundingburra (Blessed Mary MacKillop), Railway Estate (St Francis), South Townsville (St Patrick), West Townsville (St Mary), and Wulguru (St Joseph the Worker)
- Northern deanery with regular liturgical services held in Abergowrie (St Theresa), Halifax (St Peter), Ingham (St Patrick), and Palm Island (St Anne)
- Southern deanery with regular liturgical services held in Ayr (Sacred Heart), Bowen (St Mary), Burdekin Valley (St Joseph), Cannonvale (St Martin), Collinsville (Our Lady of Lourdes), Giru (St Joseph), Home Hill (St Colman), and Proserpine (St Catherine)
- Western deanery with regular liturgical services held in Charters Towers (St Columba), Cloncurry (St Colman), Hughenden (Sacred Heart), Julia Creek (Holy Rosary), McKinlay (Our Lady of the Way), Mount Isa (Good Shepherd), Richmond (St Brigid), and Winton (St Patrick)
Controversy
Main article: Catholic sexual abuse scandal in AustraliaIn 2003 it was revealed that Neville Joseph Creen, a former priest, molested young girls while he served as a priest at Mount Isa, north-west Queensland, from 1973 to 1981. In Brisbane District Court on 12 September 2003, Creen (aged 63) was sentenced to three-and-half years' jail with a 14 month minimum after admitting to 34 indecent dealing charges involving 18 girls under the age of 13. One girl was aged just 5 when Creen abused her at a youth camp and later at the home of her grandparents. Creen pleaded guilty to a further six charges on 4 November 2004 and was sentenced to an additional two years jail.[3]
See also
References
- ^ "Diocese of Townsville". The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church. 20 February 2011. http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dtown.html. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
- ^ "Diocesean profile: Parishes". Diocese of Townsville. 2009. http://www.tsv.catholic.org.au/parishes/index.php. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
- ^ "Prison for Townsville Diocese priest who molested 18 girls". CathNews (Australia). 15 September 2003. http://cathnews.acu.edu.au/309/83.php. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
External links
Province of Sydney Province of Melbourne Province of Brisbane Archdiocese of Brisbane · Diocese of Toowoomba · Diocese of Cairns · Diocese of Rockhampton · Diocese of TownsvilleProvince of Perth Province of Adelaide Immediately subject to
the Holy See/PatriarchArchdiocese of Hobart · Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn · Military Ordinariate of Australia · Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saints Peter and Paul · Maronite Eparchy of Saint Maron of Sydney · Melkite Catholic Eparchy of St Michael, Archangel · Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Saint Thomas the ApostleCategories:- Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Brisbane
- Roman Catholic dioceses in Australia
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