Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes
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Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes Dioecesis Vilcanniensis-Forbesinus |
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Sacred Heart cathedral in Broken Hill; consecrated in 1960
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| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| Territory | Far West region of New South Wales |
| Metropolitan | Archdiocese of Sydney |
| Coordinates | 31°57′12″S 141°27′33″E / 31.95333°S 141.45917°E |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 414,398 km2 (160,000 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2004) 118,257 35,904 ( 30.4%) |
| Parishes |
 20 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| Established | 10 May 1887 as the Diocese of Wilcania; 28 July 1917 as the Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes |
| Cathedral | Sacred Heart, Broken Hill |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Columba Macbeth-Green |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Anthony Fisher OP |
| Vicar General | Kevin Michael Manning |
| Emeritus Bishops | Christopher Henry Toohey |
| Website | |
| Catholic Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes | |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes is a suffragan Latin Rite diocese of the Archdiocese of Sydney, established in 1887, initially as the Diocese of Wilcannia (this town on the Darling River was then important due to the dominance of river transport), and then changed to the current name in 1917. At this time, six parochial districts of Bathurst Diocese, including those of Parkes and Forbes, were added to its western neighbour. The diocese covers the Far West region of New South Wales in Australia. The Bishop's office is in Forbes but his seat is in Sacred Heart Cathedral, Broken Hill.
In 1887, the Diocese of Wilcannia was erected by Pope Leo XIII, on territories taken from the three now-neighbouring dioceses: Armidale, Bathurst (see below) and Goulburn (later absorbed in the present Canberra-Goulburn Archdiocese), making it one of the oldest dioceses in Australia.
In 1917, the area of the diocese was enlarged (at the expense of the neighbouring diocese of Bathurst) and its name changed to the Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes to take account of the added parishes.
On 9 June 2009, Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Bishop Christopher Toohey due to reasons of personal health. In April 2011, Bishop Toohey released a personal statement admitting that his behaviour during the early years of his ministry with young adults in his pastoral care was "not consistent with that required of a good person". Although the specific behaviours were not mentioned, the church stated that any acts were not criminal in nature. To date, Bishop Toohey is the most senior member of the church to admit to inappropriate behaviour with young adults. The Pope appointed Sydney auxiliary bishop Terence Brady as apostolic administrator from 2009 until 2011. In 2011 the Bishop Emeritus of Parramatta, Kevin Michael Manning, was appointed to succeed Brady.
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