Leonard Faulkner Archdiocese of Adelaide

Leonard Anthony Faulkner (5 December 1926 – 6 May 2018) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

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and the seventh

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. Born in rural

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, Faulkner served as an

parish priest and Bishop of

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before being appointed Archbishop of Adelaide in 1985. Upon retiring in 2001, he became

Archbishop Emeritus In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

of Adelaide.

Early life

Faulkner was born in

Booleroo Centre, South Australia Booleroo Centre is a town in the southern Flinders Ranges region of South Australia. The town is located in the District Council of Mount Remarkable, Mount Remarkable District Council Local government in Australia, local government area, north ...

, in 1926. The son of a farm labourer and the eldest of ten siblings, Faulkner did not begin to attend school until he was seven years old, as until then he was considered too young to walk the four kilometres from his house to the local school. Faulkner was ordained on

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, 1950 in Rome, along with twelve other priests from around the world. His first posting was to the parish of Woodville, Seaton, Royal Park, and Albert Park in

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. He served as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

within the

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movement until his consecration as Bishop of

Episcopacy

On 28 November 1967, Faulkner was consecrated as the bishop of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. In 1983 he returned to Adelaide to assist the ailing Archbishop

James Gleeson James Timothy Gleeson (21 November 1915 – 20 October 2008) was an Australian artist. He served on the board of the National Gallery of Australia. Early life Gleeson was born in the Hornsby in 1915 and attended East Sydney Technical Colleg ...

, and in 1985 he was installed as Gleeson's successor. During his tenure as archbishop, Faulkner declined to live in the bishop's quarters, instead choosing to reside in a plain house in the Adelaide suburb of

Netley Netley, officially Netley Abbey, is a village on the south coast of Hampshire, England. It is situated to the south-east of the city of Southampton, and flanked on one side by the ruins of Netley Abbey and on the other by the Royal Victoria Co ...

Controversy regarding communal confession

In 1999, Faulkner caused controversy when he defied Vatican pressure to cease the practice of communal

confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of people – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information that ...

, wherein a priest may grant

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without hearing individual confessions. Following a meeting with Australian bishops in late 1998,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

sent a letter to all Australian bishops outlining concerns with the relaxed nature of Australian Catholicism. In particular, he formally requested that the bishops eliminate the use of communal confession. While the dioceses of most other capital cities in the country abandoned the practice, Faulkner refused, allowing communal confession during

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

of 1999. In June 1999, Faulkner sent a pastoral message to all parishes in the Archdiocese of Adelaide allowing communal confession, but requiring prior approval from the Archbishop. This made Adelaide one of the few places in Australia where communal confession was still practised.

Retirement

In November 2000, Pope John Paul II appointed the bishop of

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

, Philip Wilson, to the position of

coadjutor Archbishop The term "coadjutor" (literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadjutor bishop ...

of Adelaide, in doing so naming him as Faulkner's successor. On 3 December 2001, two days before his seventy-fifth birthday, Faulkner retired as archbishop, and Wilson was installed as his successor. As a retired Archbishop, Faulkner retained the title of

. An autobiographical book based on his edited memories, ''A Listening Ministry'', appeared in 2016.M. Costigan, Review of ''A Listening Ministry''
''Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society'' 37 (2)
, 2016, 261–265.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faulkner, Leonard 1926 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Australia Roman Catholic archbishops of Adelaide People from South Australia Roman Catholic bishops of Townsville