Michael Ernest Putney (20 June 1946 – 28 March 2014) was an Australian

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

bishop and a recognised leader of the

ecumenical movement Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

in Australia. Born in

Gladstone, Queensland Gladstone () is a coastal city in the Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the Gladstone urban area had a population of 45,185 people. It is by road north-west of the state capital, Brisbane, and south-east of Rockhampton, Queensl ...

, Putney attended St Joseph's Convent in Townsville for his primary education, and Our Lady's Mount, also in Townsville, and St Columban's College in the

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

suburb of

Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than "Britain" today. The name for Scot ...

for his secondary education. He trained for the priesthood at Pius XII Provincial Seminary at Banyo, and was ordained in 1969. Putney was named

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Mizigi and

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the Archdiocese of Brisbane (Queensland, Australia) in 1995. In 2001, Putney was named bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Townsville The Diocese of Townsville is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in Australia. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Brisbane. Erected in 1930, the Diocese o ...

, succeeding Bishop Raymond Conway Benjamin. Putney was well known for his ecumenical outreach to other Christian denominations and was president of the

National Council of Churches in Australia The National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) is an ecumenical organisation bringing together a number of Australia's Christian churches in dialogue and practical cooperation. The NCCA works in collaboration with state ecumenical council ...

from 2009 to 2013. Putney was appointed

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours for "significant service to the Catholic Church in Australia, to the promotion of inter-faith dialogue, and to the community of Townsville", and his life and work is also remembered in the annual Bishop Michael Putney Lecture, sponsored by Queensland Churches Together and the Brisbane Roman Catholic Council for Ecumenism and Inter Religious Relations.

Death

Bishop Putney was diagnosed with terminal

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...

in December 2012, and eventually died in office, having worked up until his admission to hospital on 21 March 2014, according to the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

. He died 15 months after his diagnosis at the Mater Hospital, Townsville, on 28 March 2014, aged 67."Notice of death of Bishop Putney"
catholicnewsagency.com; accessed 21 August 2014.

Notes

External links

1946 births 2014 deaths People from Gladstone, Queensland Roman Catholic bishops of Townsville Deaths from cancer in Queensland Deaths from stomach cancer in Australia 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Australia 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Australia Members of the Order of Australia {{Australia-RC-bishop-stub