Michael Malone (born 23 October 1939) is the

bishop emeritus In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teaching doctrine, governing Catholics in his jurisdiction, sanctifying the world and representing the c ...

of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle The Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle is a suffragan Latin Church diocese of the Archdiocese of Sydney, established in 1847 initially as the Diocese of Maitland and changed to the current name in 1995. The diocese covers the Hunter and Mid North Co ...

. He was previously coadjutor bishop of the diocese and prior to that, had been a priest for the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney The Archdiocese of Sydney () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church. Its episcopal see is Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Erected in 1842, the archdiocese is the metropolis (religious jurisdiction) ...

. He retired in 2011, saying he had been emotionally drained by the raft of sexual abuse within the diocese.

Early life

Malone was born in Willoughby on Sydney's North Shore in 1939. He entered seminary as an 18-year-old and was ordained to the diaconate in 1963. On 18 July 1964, he was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Norman Gilroy at

St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians, locally known as Saint Mary's Cathedral, is a Catholic basilica and the seat of the Archdiocese of Sydney. The cathedral is dedicated to the Blessed Vi ...

, alongside future Bishop of Wollongong, Peter Ingham.

Priesthood

Malone's first appointment was as an assistant priest in Annandale parish in 1965. His appointment came as the first documents following the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

were released and spearheading the transformation of the liturgy and practices within his parish during this time formed a key part of his early ministry.

Episcopacy

On 12 December 1994, Pope John Paul II appointed Malone as the coadjutor bishop of the

. He was consecrated on 15 February 1995 and succeeded Bishop Leo Clarke on 3 November 1995, following his retirement. In March 2009, Malone was barred from performing a joint Catholic-Anglican confirmation rite after the Holy See intervened. The Congregation for Divine Worship said the proposed service could result in "confusing messages being given to the people".

Response to sexual abuse

In 2008, Malone made a public apology to victims of sexual abuse at the hands of clergy, however his handling of paedophile priests during his time as Bishop of Maitland-Newcastle has been criticised. In 2002, Malone moved Father James Fletcher, who was being investigated by police of paedophilia, to a parish with a primary and secondary school without revealing any of the allegations against him. He told the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry's investigation into sexual abuse in 2013, "we had none-else to put in". During the 2013 NSW Special Commission of Inquiry's investigation into sexual abuse, Malone admitted he was out of his depth in dealing with matters of child protection during his 16 years as Bishop of Maitland-Newcastle. He said he turned a blind eye to decades of complaints against Father Dennis McAlinden, a priest in the diocese, because "the whole area of sexual abuse is so distasteful that I would have found it unpalatable".

Retirement

In September 2009, Malone revealed he had asked the Vatican to appoint a coadjutor bishop so he could depart after "15 difficult years", five years short of the normative retirement age of 75. On 4 April 2011,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

accepted his resignation and appointed William Wright to succeed him as Bishop of Maitland-Newcastle. Following his resignation, Malone said: "I'm proud that I have confronted the issues as strongly as I have, the issues of sexual abuse."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Malone, Michael 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Australia Roman Catholic bishops of Maitland-Newcastle Living people 1939 births Clergy from Sydney