Catholic Military Ordinariate of Australia

The Catholic Military Ordinariate of Australia, is a Latin Church suffragan military ordinariate of the Roman Catholic Church immediately subject to the Holy See. It was established in 1969 and managed for administrative purposes by the Archdiocese of Sydney.

Military Ordinariate of Australia

Ordinariatus Militaris Australia
Coat of arms
Location
CountryAustralia
MetropolitanImmediately subject to the Holy See
Information
DenominationRoman Catholic Church
RiteRoman Rite
Established6 March 1969
Patron saintMary Help of Christians
Current leadership
BishopMax Davis
Website
military.catholic.org.au

Its ordinary (bishop) and his chaplains serve the members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and their families in all three services; the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) regardless of location.

History

Catholic chaplaincy has been provided for Australians serving in the military since the 1901 contribution of forces to fight in the Boxer Rebellion. However, it was not until 1912 that a bishop, Thomas Carr, the then Archbishop of Melbourne, was delegated by the Catholic bishops of Australia as the bishop of the Australian Armed Forces.

From 1912 until 1969, Catholic armed servicemen and women were in the care of a bishop delegated to them who was also a bishop elsewhere. In 1969, Pope Paul VI created the Military Vicariate of Australia. In 1984, Pope John Paul II elevated the vicariate to a military ordinariate with its own bishop. The diocese was officially established under an apostolic constitution, Spirituali Militum Curae, on 21 July 1986 and given final approval in 1988.

Structure

Although the headquarters of the diocese is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, the diocese is attached to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, while being immediately subject to the Holy See. Unlike conventional dioceses, which are restricted to a geographical area, the Catholic Diocese of the ADF covers all of Australia and its 30 Defence bases, and any Australian military facilities or units overseas or off-shore.

Bishop

The Catholic Bishop of the ADF is usually a member of the ADF's Religious Advisory Committee to the Services (RACS), and holds status equivalent to a two-star officer (NATO rank code OF-7). Currently the Vicar General is the Catholic RACS member. RACS advises the Federal Minister of Defence, the Chief of the Defence Force and the three chiefs of the services on matters pertaining to religion, worship and chaplaincy. The Catholic bishop is the head of the Catholic denomination recognised in the Defence Instructions (General) of the ADF.

The following individuals have been elected as Bishop of the Armed Services:[1]

NameTermOther appointment
Bishop of the Armed Services
Thomas Carr1912–1917Archbishop of Melbourne: 1886–1917
Daniel Mannix1917–1963Archbishop of Melbourne: 1917–1963
Thomas Absolem McCabe1964–1969Bishop of Wollongong: 1951–1974
Military Vicar
John Aloysius Morgan1969–1985Auxiliary Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn: 1969–1985
Military Ordinary
Geoffrey Mayne1985–2003-
Max Davis2003–present-

Principal Chaplains

Army and Air Force have three Principal Chaplains; one each to represent Catholicism, Anglicanism and ProtestantismIn January 2018, the Australian Navy removed the requirement to have three Principal Chaplains. They are accorded the rank relevant to the Division Five chaplain for each branch (1 star rank or O7). Principal Chaplains (who in the Catholic Military Diocese are also Episcopal Vicars, and currently are also "Monsignors") oversee the chaplains of their particular Service, managing matters such as recruitment, postings, deployments, promotions, welfare and discipline.

Catholic priests who are promoted to Principal Chaplains of the ADF are traditionally nominated for and receive the title "Monsignor" from the Pope. The current Catholic Principal Chaplains of the ADF are: Air Force - Monsignor (Air Commodore) Peter O'Keefe AM VG EV (also Vicar General of the Military Ordinariate); Navy - Monsignor (Commodore) Stuart Hall, RAN (also full-time Parish Priest in Malvern East Victoria); Army - Monsignor (Brigadier) Glynn Murphy OAM (also full-time Parish Priest Horsham Victoria). Currently all Catholic Principal Chaplains are in the Reserve Forces.

Chaplains

Chaplains are charged with the responsibility to care for the religious, spiritual and pastoral (welfare) needs of Defence members and their families. For Catholic chaplains, this includes providing the sacraments, especially to Defence members isolated from civilian Catholic churches/parishes or on war operations. Chaplains, especially those appointed to training establishments, conduct classes on ethics, morals, values and character development with their military units. Chaplains in the Navy, Army and Air Force undergo the same training as other ADF officers.

With only a few exceptions, ordained Catholic chaplains (priests and deacons) are "on loan" to the Military Diocese from a "civilian" diocese for an agreed period of time, which may or may not be renewed. The Bishop of the Military relies on the other Australian bishops for the supply of enough clergy to meet the chaplaincy needs of Catholics in the ADF. It is possible for a priest or deacon to be ordained solely into (incardinated) the Defence Diocese/Military Ordinariate and thus he fully belongs to the Military Diocese for life. The Archdiocese of Melbourne currently supplies more full-time priests than any other diocese to the Australian Defence Diocese.

ADF chaplains are generally addressed by their first name by Officers of equal or superior rank or as "Sir" by those of lower ranks, however Catholic chaplains are often referred to as "Father" or as "Padre" by soldiers, sailors, and RAAF personnel irrespective of their rank.

Divisions

Chaplains in the ADF are organised into five divisions:

DivisionArmyRAN(1)RAAFNATO rank codeChaplain Title
1Captain (Army)CommanderFlight LieutenantOF-2Chaplain
2MajorCommanderSquadron LeaderOF-3Chaplain
3Lieutenant ColonelCommanderWing CommanderOF-4Senior Chaplain
4ColonelCaptainGroup CaptainOF-5Senior Chaplain
5BrigadierCommodoreAir CommodoreOF-6Principal Chaplain
^(1) Australian Navy Chaplains do not wear any rank insignia (instead wearing a cross and anchor emblem copied from the British Royal Navy), but under Defence Instructions - Navy, they are accorded a status equivalent to the rank listed in the table. Although differentiated by Division, Navy Chaplains in Divisions 1 to 3 are all given the status of a Commander (OF-4/O5).

Current Chaplains

In 2019, there are 9 full-time priests, 4 full-time married deacons, 3 full-time married non-ordained pastoral associates (lay people) and 2 full-time, non-ordained, non-married Chaplains serving as Commissioned chaplains (Officer rank) in the ADF. There were 25,614 Roman Catholics in the ADF out of a total of 102,764 (full-time and reservists). Although Catholics constitute the largest religious group in the ADF, the diocese struggles to recruit enough chaplains to serve the Catholic defence population.

2019 (Full-time "Permanent," "Regular") ADF Chaplains:

Navy (RAN)
  • Monsignor (Principal Chaplain - O7) Stuart Hall, RAN (Parish Priest, Malvern East VIC) - Navy Reserves (part-time)
  • Father (Senior Chaplain - O5) Paul Stuart, RAN JP STL - Coordinator Chaplain-Flotillas embarked in HMAS Canberra
  • Deacon (Chaplain - O4) Anthony Crook, RAN, B.A., Dip. Ed., B.Th., Grad. Dip. Rel. Ed., M. App. Psych., M.Ed., M.A. (Theol), M.Th. (Lit) - Support Chaplain HMAS Kuttabul, Sydney NSW
  • Father (Chaplain - O3) Giles Atherton, RAN FI - Fleet Chaplain located out of Fleet Base West, HMAS Stirling, WA
  • Father (Chaplain - O3) Stephen Varney, RAN - Support Chaplain HMAS Cerberus.
  • Mr (Chaplain - O3) Graeme Swan, RAN - Support Chaplain HMAS Kuttabul
Army
  • Monsignor (Brigadier) Glynn Murphy OAM DCL (Parish Priest Warracknabeal Victoria) - Army Reserves (part-time)
  • Father (Major) Damian Styles, Darwin NT.
  • Father (Major) Damien Ellis, Townsville, QLD.
  • Father (Captain) John Vergara, Royal Military College, Duntroon, ACT
  • Father (Captain) Piotr Kowalczyk, 1 RTB/ARTC Kapooka, NSW
  • Father (Captain) Brendan Quirk
  • Deacon (Captain) Brenton Fry, NSW.
  • Deacon (Captain) Michael Flew, Randwick Barracks, NSW
  • Deacon (Captain) Leo Orreal, QLD.
  • Deacon (Captain) Garth Mayger, Darwin NT.
  • Mr (Captain) Cesar Lopez, Townsville QLD.
  • Mr (Captain) Joseph Moloney
Air Force (RAAF)
  • Monsignor (Air Commodore ret.) Peter O'Keefe, AM, VG, EV - retired from the Air Force (RAAF)
  • Mr (Squadron Leader) Kevin O'Sullivan (RAAF Base, Tindal, NT)
  • Father (Flight Lieutenant) Raphael Abboud (RAAF Base, Williamtown, NSW)
Reserve (part-time) Chaplains

There are a small number of Reserve Defence Force chaplains who are mostly full-time parish priests in civilian parishes or married deacons ministering full-time in their dioceses. In 2019 these included: Navy - Fr Patrick Sykes (Parish Priest South Wagga Wagga, NSW), Fr Paul Raj (Parish Priest Hilton, WA), Fr Thi Lam (Hospital Chaplain, Perth WA); Air Force- Fr John Healy (Parish Priest Laverton, VIC).

Noncombatant status
See: Military chaplain#Non-combatant status

Chapels

The Catholic Church has many chapels located on Defence Force establishments, primarily but not exclusively for the use of Catholic personnel. Some chapels are "non-denominational" and are shared with other Christian denominations.

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See also

References
  1. "Military Ordinariate of Australia, Military". The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church. 19 February 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2007.
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