James Michael Liston

James Michael Liston (1881 - 1976) was the 7th Catholic bishop of Auckland.

Early life

James Michael Liston was born in Dunedin on 9 June 1881, one of a family of five children of Mary Sullivan and her husband, James Liston, a hotel-keeper. His parents were both born in Ireland. He was educated at the Christian brothers' School in Dunedin. At the age of 12 in 1893 he began his training for the priesthood at St Patrick’s College, Manly, Sydney. He later attended Holy Cross College, Dublin (1897-1900) and then went on to the Irish College in Rome from which he graduated in 1903 with a doctorate of divinity. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Verdon in St Joseph’s Cathedral, Dunedin On 31 January 1904. The next 16 years were spent teaching scripture and dogmatic theology at Holy Cross College, Mosgiel, the national seminary established by Verdon in 1900. Liston was rector from 1910. On 12 December 1920, Liston was consecrated as coadjutor Bishop of Auckland under Henry Cleary, the sixth Catholic Bishop of Auckland, in St Joseph’s Cathedral.

edition trial

In 1922 during a St Patrick’s night address in the Auckland Town Hall, speaking on the Irish question, Liston queried the worth of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, praised the dead rebels of 1916 (apparently saying they had been 'murdered by foreign troops'), and predicted a successful fight for the complete freedom of Ireland. The subsequent furore ended only when Prime Minister William Massey’s government announced that Liston was to be prosecuted for making seditious utterances. After a two-day trial in Auckland’s Supreme Court in mid May 1922, Liston was acquitted by an all-Protestant jury. [Rory Sweetman, 'Liston, James Michael 1881 - 1976'. Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007 URL: http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/ ]

Bishop of Auckland

In December 1929 Liston became Auckland’s seventh Catholic bishop and remained so for the subsequent 40 years. Loreto Hall was established in 1950 for the training of lay and religious teachers. By 1970 there were 118 schools, with 23,000 pupils, in his diocese. [ Rick Maxwell, St Peter's College, Auckland, Simerlocy Press, Auckland, 2008: contains the story of the foundation of one of those schools,St Peter's College, Auckland in 1939.] Twenty-three religious orders came from overseas, largely to staff the schools, while 80 new parishes came into being. He took a deep personal interest in planning and financing convents, churches, monasteries, schools, hospitals, orphanages, homes for the aged, retreat and rest houses. He helped to found Newman Hall, the centre and hostel for Catholic university students, and to set up the Auckland Diocesan Federation of Catholic Parent Teacher Associations, Catholic Social Services, the Catholic Youth Movement, and the Christian Family Movement. In 1944 he ordained the first Maori priest, Wiremu Te Awhitu. With the post-war drift to the city by Maori, he encouraged the Mill Hill fathers to establish two centres for their care, as well as fostering work of all kinds among the Maori people. [Rory Sweetman, 'Liston, James Michael 1881 - 1976'. Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007 URL: http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/ ]

Honours

In 1954 Liston was given the honorary title archbishop, for his services to the church. He was also alive to the needs of the wider community and assisted many worthy causes. In later life, as his quiet contributions to community life became more widely appreciated, he was the recipient of several honours: he was made a CMG [Companion of St Michael and Saint George] in 1968, and two years later received an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D) from the University of Auckland. [Rory Sweetman, 'Liston, James Michael 1881 - 1976'. Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007 URL: http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/ ]

Last years

As the Catholic population of his sprawling diocese grew, Liston found it hard to relax his personal grip. Decades of changing social patterns and values culminated in a final era of liturgical revolution and arguments on basic moral and doctrinal issues. There were sharp debates on the contraceptive pill, celibacy, the place of the laity in the ecumenical church, and of the clergy in public affairs. His last years of office were marked by controversy over such issues as the suspension of two anti-war priests and the removal of two editors of the diocesan weekly newspaper, the Zealandia. [Nicholas Evan Reid, The bishop's paper: a history of the Catholic press of the Diocese of Auckland, Catholic Publications Centre, Orewa, 2000.] But even his critics on these issues acknowledged his devotion to his church and his city, a respect that transcended denominational boundaries. [Rory Sweetman, 'Liston, James Michael 1881 - 1976'. Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007 URL: http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/ ]

In 1970, at the age of 88, Archbishop Liston retired and he died, aged 95, at the Mater Hospital on 8 July 1976.

Legacy

The Society of James Liston was founded in honour of Bishop Liston. This Society continues to be active in the Catholic Church of New Zealand.

Notes

References/Sources

* E.R. Simmons, "In Cruce Salus, A History of the Diocese of Auckland 1848 - 1980", Catholic Publication Centre, Auckland 1982.
* Rory Sweetman, "Bishop in the Dock: the sedition trial of James Liston", Auckland University Press, Auckland, 1997,
* Nicholas Evan Reid, "The bishop's paper: a history of the Catholic press of the Diocese of Auckland", Catholic Publications Centre, Orewa, 2000.
* Rory Sweetman, "Liston, James Michael 1881 - 1976". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007 URL: http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/
* Nicholas Evan Reid, "James Michael Liston: A Life", Victoria University Press, Wellington 2006.
* Rick Maxwell, "St Peter's College, Auckland", Simerlocy Press, Auckland, 2008.

External links

* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dauck.html/ Catholic-hierarchy website]
* [http://www.ak.catholic.org.nz// Catholic Diocese of Auckland]
* [http://www.catholic.org.nz// Catholic Church in New Zealand]