Diocese of Ballarat Dioecesis Ballaratensis | |
|---|---|
 St Patrick's Cathedral, Ballarat | |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| Ecclesiastical province | Melbourne |
| Metropolitan | Archdiocese of Melbourne |
| Coordinates | 37°34′18″S 143°51′00″E / 37.57167°S 143.85000°E |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 58,000 km2 (22,000 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2006) 384,000 97,900 ( 25.2%) |
| Parishes | 52 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 30 March 1874 |
| Cathedral | St Patrick's Cathedral |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Paul Bird CSsR |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Peter Comensoli |
| Bishops emeritus | Peter Connors |
| Map | |
 | |
| Website | |
| ballarat.catholic.org.au | |
The Diocese of Ballarat, based in Ballarat, Australia, is a 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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]
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.[4]
- ^ "Australia and Catholic Church 'Failed' Abused Children, Inquiry Finds". The New York Times. 14 December 2017. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 17 December 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ Vedelago, Debbie Cuthbertson, Farrah Tomazin, Chris (23 September 2019). "Ground zero: How the Ballarat diocese exported paedophiles to the world". The Age. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "'Legal first': Catholic Church ruled vicariously liable for paedophile priest's historic abuse". ABC News. 27 December 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
since1973was invoked but never defined (see the help page).