Denis Hart
| The Most Reverend Denis Hart | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop Emeritus of Melbourne | |
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| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| Archdiocese | Melbourne |
| See | Melbourne |
| Appointed | 22 June 2001 |
| Installed | 1 August 2001 |
| Term ended | 29 June 2018 |
| Predecessor | George Pell |
| Successor | Peter Comensoli |
| Previous posts | Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne (1997–2001) Titular Bishop of Vagada (1997–2001) President of the Australian Episcopal Conference (2012–18) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 22 July 1967 by Arthur Francis Fox |
| Consecration | 9 December 1997 by George Pell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Denis James Hart 16 May 1941 East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia] |
| Residence | Saint Patrick's Cathedral |
| Alma mater | Xavier College Corpus Christi College |
| Motto | Constant in Faith |
Denis James Hart (born 16 May 1941) is a retired Australian prelate of the Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Melbourne from 2001 to 2018.
Early years and background
Hart was born in East Melbourne, Victoria, the eldest of the three children of Kevin and Annie Hart. He was educated at St John's Marist Brothers in Hawthorn and Xavier College in Kew. He studied for the priesthood at Corpus Christi College from 1960 to 1967.
Ordained at St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, in 1967, Hart served as a hospital chaplain, an assistant parish priest and then master of ceremonies at St Patrick's Cathedral. He supervised the preparation of the books used in worship, including the lectionary for Mass. He was liturgy director and assistant master of ceremonies for the 1986 papal visit to Australia.[1] In 1987 Hart became a parish priest and in 1996 he became vicar general and moderator of the archdiocese's curia. He has served in the parishes of North Balwyn, North Richmond and West Brunswick. In 1997, he was consecrated a bishop and made an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Melbourne.[1]
Archbishop
In 2001, Hart was appointed Archbishop of Melbourne, replacing George Pell who became the Archbishop of Sydney. On 29 June 2001, he received the pallium from Pope John Paul II in St Peter's Square.[1]
Within the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, he was a member of the permanent committee from 2002, chairman of the Bishops' Commission for Administration and Information (2002–2012), member of the Bishops' Commission for Liturgy (1998–2012) and vice president of the conference (2010–2012). He has been chair of the ad hoc committee for the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross since 2010.[2] In May 2012, he was elected president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference for two years.[3] He has been a member of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy since 2003 and its vice president (2010–2014). He took part in the Oceania Synod and ad limina visits in 1998, 2004 and 2011. In 2007, Hart expressed that he was troubled by the remarks of St Patrick's Cathedral priest Geoff Baron.[4]
During 2016, Hart urged schools to be sensitive and respectful to students who want to invite a same-sex date to school dance nights. "These are quite often emotional situations and it's very important that we always have respect for the dignity of the human being involved", he said when Fairfax asked for his response to a previously unreported case at the Academy of Mary Immaculate in Fitzroy.[5]
He was appointed a member of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.[6]
Pope Francis accepted his resignation on 29 June 2018.[7]
Hart requested a Melbourne parish priest stand down while the priest was investigated by civil authorities for allegedly violating child safety laws.[8]
Controversies
In 2009 during a court case, Hart was accused of having told a woman to "Go to hell, bitch" when she had knocked on his door in the middle of the night in 2004.[9][10] On the ABC on 14 November 2013, Hart acknowledged making the comment, then immediately asserting that he always followed the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. He apologised for it and described it as unfortunate.[11]
In May 2013, Hart appeared at a Victorian parliamentary inquiry into child sex abuse. He commented, in regard to why it took 18 years to have a priest laicised for sexually abusing children, "Better late than never."[12]
On 15 August 2017, Hart stated that if the law was changed to require clergy to report child sexual abuse learned of during confessionals, he would break the law and not report such abuse.[13]
References
- Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 Back to citation occurrence 1.2 "Biography of Archbishop Denis J. Hart". Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. 2010. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- Back to citation "Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne: Church in Melbourne, Australia Archbishop Biography". www.cam.org.au.
- Back to citation Link text
- Back to citation "Swearing priest suspended". 31 July 2007.
- Back to citation Dobbin-Thomas, Marika (22 January 2016). "Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart gives green light to gay couples at Catholic school formals" – via The Age.
- Back to citation "Rinunce e nomine". press.vatican.va.
- Back to citation "Pope replaces Australian prelate who opposes sex abuse norm". uk.news.yahoo.com. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
- Back to citation "Parish priest stood down over child safety concerns". 12 June 2018.
- Back to citation McKenzie, Nick (11 August 2009). "Sex abuse victim told to 'go to hell'". The Age. Australia. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- Back to citation Lauder, Simon (11 August 2009). "Archbishop told abuse victim to 'go to hell': report". AM (ABC radio). Australia. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- Back to citation "Archbishop apologises for Catholic Church's handling of sexual abuse", Lateline, ABC website, 14 November 2013.
- Back to citation "Better late than never", The Australian newspaper.
- Back to citation "Why an archbishop and a priest wouldn't report a confession to police". ABC. 15 August 2017.