The Diocese of Ballarat, based in Ballarat, Australia, is a Roman Catholic 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.
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. 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. 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. This ruling was later overturned by the High Court in Nov 2024.
In May 2020, newly released details in a royal commission report stated that Cardinal George Pell, a former Diocese of Ballarat priest, knew of sex abuse in the diocese as early as 1973. In response, Pell said he was "surprised" and that the royal commission's findings "are not supported by evidence".
History The Diocese of Ballarat was established on 30 March 1874, from the Diocese of Melbourne. At the same time, the Diocese of Melbourne was made an archdiocese while Ballarat became one of its suffragans.
Bishop Peter Connors retired as Bishop of Ballarat on 1 August 2012 and Father Paul Bird CSsR was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to succeed him. He was ordained bishop on 16 October 2012. Bishop Paul Bird (born 17 July 1949) is a member of the missionary Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorist).
Bishops Ordinaries The following individuals have been the Roman Catholic Bishop of Ballarat: {| class="wikitable sortable" !Order !!Name !!Date enthroned !!Reign ended !! !!Reason for term end |- |align="center"| ||Michael O'Connor † ||align="center" |24 April 1874 ||align="center" |14 February 1883 ||align="right"| ||Died in office |- |align="center"| ||James Moore † ||align="center" |12 January 1884 ||align="center" |26 June 1904 ||align="right"| ||Died in office |- |align="center"| ||Joseph Higgins † ||align="center" |3 March 1905 ||align="center" | ||align="right"| ||Died in office |- |align="center"| ||Daniel Foley † ||align="center" |12 April 1916 ||align="center" |31 October 1941 ||align="right"| ||Died in office |- |align="center"| ||James O'Collins † ||align="center" | ||align="center" |1 May 1971 ||align="right"| ||Retired at age 79. Bishop Emeritus of Ballarat. Died 25 November 1983 |- |align="center"| || ||align="center" |1 May 1971 ||align="center" |30 May 1997 ||align="right"| ||Resigned. Bishop Emeritus of Ballarat. Died 4 April 2016 |- |align="center"| ||Peter Connors ||align="center" |30 May 1997 ||align="center" |1 August 2012 ||align="right"| ||Retired at age 75. Bishop Emeritus of Ballarat |- |align="center"| ||Paul Bird ||align="center" |1 August 2012 ||align="center" | 19 March 2026|| align="right" | || Retired aged 75 |- |align="center"| || Mark Freeman ||align="center" |19 March 2026 ||align="center" | incumbent || align="right" | ||
Coadjutor bishop Ronald Austin Mulkearns † (1968–1971)
Other priests of the diocese who became bishops Joseph Basil Roper, appointed Bishop of Toowoomba in 1938 George Pell, appointed an auxiliary bishop of Melbourne in 1987; future cardinal Brian Vincent Finnigan, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Brisbane in 2002 Shane Anthony Mackinlay, appointed Bishop of Sandhurst in 2019
Other information The diocese is bounded by the South Australian border (the Archdiocese of Adelaide and the Diocese of Port Pirie), the Murray River (the Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes) and the Southern Ocean. To the east is the Diocese of Sandhurst and the Archdiocese of Melbourne. The diocese has 52 parishes, 39 clergy and four parish leaders. The seat of the diocese is St Patrick's Cathedral, Ballarat.
Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education Limited Secondary schools under the governance of the Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education Limited (DOBCEL) include: Mercy Regional College, Camperdown Trinity College Colac St Brigid's College, Horsham Damascus College Ballarat St Mary MacKillop College, Swan Hill
Child sexual abuse
The Diocese of Ballarat has been part of the Catholic sexual abuse scandal, which includes a series of convictions, trials and ongoing investigations into allegations of sex crimes committed by Catholic priests and members of religious orders.
Victorian government inquiry In 2012 the Parliament of Victoria established the Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other Non-Government Organisations. The Inquiry tabled its report to Parliament on 13 November 2013 and the Government tabled its response to the Inquiry's recommendations on 8 May 2014.
The systemic problem of sexual abuse was highlighted in the Victoria Police submission into the parliamentary inquiry into the handling of child abuse by churches. "Confidential police reports detail the suicides of at least 40 people sexually abused by Catholic clergy in Victoria and say it appeared the church knew about a shockingly high rate of suicides and premature deaths but had chosen to remain silent".The Age, 11 October 2012, Police slam Catholic Church
Cardinal George Pell also confirmed in the Victorian parliamentary inquiry that "some members of the Church tried to cover up child sexual abuse by other members of the clergy" as the ABC states.ABC News, Cardinal George Pell admits Church covered up cases of child sex abuse
There have been 130 claims and substantiated complaints of child sexual abuse against the Ballarat diocese since 1980. At least 14 priests of the Diocese of Ballarat have been the subject of one or more claims and substantiated complaints of child sex abuse.
Federal government inquiry In May 2015, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, a royal commission of inquiry initiated in 2013 by and supported by all state governments, began an investigation into the response of relevant Catholic Church authorities to the impact of child sexual abuse on survivors of child sexual abuse, their families and the community of Ballarat. The hearing heard about the impact of child sexual abuse on the community of Ballarat from residents and from former students of St Joseph's Home, Ballarat; St Alipius Primary School, Ballarat East; St Alipius Parish, Ballarat East; St Patrick's College, Ballarat; and St Patrick's Christian Brothers Boys Primary School, Ballarat. Catholic clergy who were convicted of child sexual offences which took place within the diocese were also invited to speak or make statements before the commission.
During the 2016 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Ballarat it was found that 853 children, average age 13, had been sexually abused by one or more Christian Brothers and that at least 30 victims had since committed suicide in Ballarat. Child abuse complaints were made against 281 Christian Brothers, and the Congregation had paid A$37.3 million in compensation. It was found that every boy at the school at Mortlake between the age of 10 and 16 had been abused by Gerard Ridsdale and one victim held a photo of a class from St Alipius Primary School and stated that 12 of the 33 boys had committed suicide because of the abuse.
During the Ballarat Case Study of the royal commission it was found that Glynis McNeight, a private investigator, was paid for by the Christian Brothers through a retained law firm, Doyle Considine solicitors, which pursued victims sexually abused by Brother Edward Dowlan. McNeight's report was tabled which contained strategy to manipulate witnesses, such as a victim could "easily be torn down in the witness box" and "The person himself is a very nervous, excitable type who will reduce to tears and bad language easily". The report also documents a Senior Constable, Blair Smith, trying to protect victims from harassment from the investigator and from perversion of the course of justice. Blair Smith was also one of the first detectives to properly investigate a Christian brothers in Victoria, whose work in the early 1990s led to the conviction of Edward Dowlan; he said that the Christian Brothers is "run like a Mafia organisation." It was also shown that the Christian Brothers knew of abuse from Brothers but did not tell police and spent almost $1.5 Million defending paedophile Brother Robert Best, Edward Dowlan and Stephen Farrell. It was found that the Christian Brothers' St Alipius School was staffed almost entirely by paedophiles.
The royal commission's final report on Catholic Church authorities in Ballarat was released on 6 December 2017. The commission found that Bishop Mulkearns failed to take action: "Bishop Mulkearns again was derelict in his duty in failing to take any effective action to have (paedophile priest) Ridsdale referred to police and to restrict Ridsdale's contact with children". The commission pointed out the structure of the diocese, culture and governance, concluding: "The most likely explanation for the conduct of Bishop Mulkearns and other senior clergy in the Diocese was that they were trying to minimise the risk of scandal and protect the reputation of the Catholic Church. The Melbourne report found that former Ballarat Diocese Bishop Peter Connors was part of a culture that practiced 'using oblique or euphemistic language in correspondence and records concerning complaints of child sexual abuse'".