From Cleric To Relic

[Guest Guest]

another one bites the dust.. http://www2.fiu.edu/...dditions-12.htm

[Davey Jones' Locker 1,324]

I haven't seen him deliver it but radio reports are that accused paedophile/Archbishop of Brisbane Phillip Aspinall was pale and incoherent when giving one of his Christmas Day speeches. He was only born in '59 though so I am not expecting anything to be too seriously wrong with him.

 

It seems that Phillip Aspinall's Wikipedia page has been the subject of a recent edit war. Before the last wave of edits chopped out most of the content, it showed that his tenure as head of the Diocese of Brisbane has not been a particularly happy one:

 

 

***

Career

 

He was consecrated a bishop in Adelaide on 29 June 1998 where he served as assistant bishop until December 2001.

 

In 2003, he was implicated in a sexual abuse scandal. This was widely reported in the national news at the time. [1]

 

During his tenure, the pro-homosexual Anglo-Catholic clergy organisation, the Oratory of the Good Shepherd has been allowed to flourish. Another notable event in his reign has been the completion of St John's Cathedral, Brisbane.

 

Controversially, the cathedral includes a souvenir shop within its walls which many parishioners find inappropriate. Also highly controversial has been the installation of reserved pews for politicians and members of the military. [3]

 

He was elected Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia in 2005. He has an authoritarian, centralist leadership style and has tried to silence any form of dissent. This has led to a culture of intimidation. For instance, priests are not inclined to publish their sermons on their parish websites for fear of reprimand.

 

By his own admission, Archbishop Aspinall was caught off-guard by "No Religion" campaign that was launched by an atheist lobby group in the lead-up to the 2011 Census. [4]

 

Throughout his career, the Anglo-Catholic Aspinall has been in a power struggle with the evangelical Archbishop Peter Jensen from the Anglican Diocese of Sydney. As a result of this, priests who have graduated from Moore Theological College are not permitted to preach in Brisbane.

 

In terms of social justice issues, Aspinall has spoken out against the ill-treatment of asylum seekers [5] but has provided very little support to international social justice organisations active in his diocese, such as the Tearfund, Anglican Pacifist Fellowship and the local environmental group, Angligreen. He has, however, shown support for women bishops [6] against the wishes of the local branch of the conservative lobby group, Forward in Faith.

 

During the 2011 Diocese of Brisbane Synod, Aspinall's deputy, Bishop Jonathan Holland, stifled a motion that would have led to an investigation into alleged malpractice at Saint Francis' Theological College, at which most of the diocese's priests are trained. [7]

 

A motion raised that would have lead to Anglican Church schools shifting focus away from academic elitism towards producing good Christians was also quashed at this synod [8]

 

Aspinall has also encouraged new money-making ventures for the Diocese. During the time of the Cathedral's construction, several fundraising efforts were made. He has also initiated ventures to allow parishioners to tithe via direct debit and leave their estates to the Church by distributing information about creating wills that favour the Diocese. [9]

***

 

So Phillip Aspinall is a bullying, authoritarian. money-grubbing pro-military, class-conscious elitist... Under him, Anglicanism in Brisbane really does sound like it has been reduced to nothing more than the last shadow of the British Empire then. :(

 

Just discovered this website when Googling for info on Phillip Aspinall. What an 'interesting' concept a death list is. Still not sure I am entirely comfortable with the idea...

 

Anyway, no, Aspinall appears to be in perfect health. I agree with the self-proclaimed 'rant' above though - I know from personal experience there are lots of problems in the Diocese of Brisbane. Phillip Aspinall is a mixture of conservative and liberal - he supports women priests and stood up to the (conservative) Howard government for workers and the rights of asylum seekers yet he runs his own diocese as a conservative centralist and quickly silences any priest who says anything remotely controversial.

 

On the other hand he appeases too much. As the person above rightly notes he did very, very little to oppose Iraq and has not done anything to support Christian anti-war activists. Same for environmentalists - he tries to appease conservatives by silencing anyone who speaks out on these issues. Compared to New Zealand bishops, he is very conservative and, to be frank, very disappointing. By trying to appease all he forgets to stand up for the gospel. As the church failed to speak out loudly enough for peace, Aspinall has to take his share of blame for the slaughter of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan and the increasingly pro-military pro-nationalist mindset in Australia. This is a fundamental failure to proclaim the pacifist Gospel of Jesus. He has aligned the church too closely with the world (the State) and has not stood apart. There is a small but steady exodus of parishioners from the Anglican church in Brisbane to alternative forms of Christianity like the Quakers and this is the reason why!

 

Aspinall is also very political on the issue of ecumenism - it is really up to Christians at the 'grassroots' to work together as it will take decades more for us to see any progress with regards to cooperation and joint ventures between churches at a formal level. it is all about bureaucracy at this stage.

 

Yes, Brisbane has a troubled history with a lot of sexual abuse. Aspinall has cleaned up some of this but he does turn a blind eye to the 'Oratory of the Good Shepherd', many members of which are sexual deviants. Again strange that he is proactive in some areas but turns a blind eye in others. That is part of the reason why Brisbane is sometimes known, very sadly, as the 'Diocese of Sleaze'.

 

I think the biggest problem is his advisors. to be part of the inner clique at Brisbane you have to be either a lawyer or an academic and the Diocese reflects that insular, elitist, arrogant mindset. If you approach them to discuss an issue or advise and are not part of the clique they will just laugh at you.

 

Also, as the person above noted, Bishop Jonathan Holland strikes me as very ambitious and cunning, not typical qualities of a 'man of God.' If Aspinall ever resigns I dread to think what the Diocese would be like with him in charge.

 

Of course, the most damning stuff is the allegations of sexual misconduct. Here are some samples from the media. I have no idea if the allegations are true or not:

 

 

1.

'In a statement read to journalists, this is part of what he had to say:

 

PHILLIP ASPINALL: A person contacted me just after I had become

Brisbane's Anglican Archbishop alleging that he was sexually abused by

a priest in Tasmania over twenty years ago.

 

He alleged that I had arranged for him to share the bed of the priest

who subsequently abused him. I absolutely and totally rejected this

allegation then, as I do now. Independent witnesses also reject the

allegation.

 

JO MAZZOCCHI: Dr Aspinall concedes he did know the complainant at the

time of the alleged incident.

 

PHILLIP ASPINALL: At the time of the alleged assault by the priest,

the person who contacted me, and I, were both young adults and both

church youth group leaders. I was 22, and he was 18. I was not a priest.

 

Both of us were part of a group of adult friends who were staying

overnight at the accused person's house.

 

I absolutely and totally reject the assertion that I arranged for this

person to share the accused person's bed. There was no suggestion of

any untoward behaviour until this allegation surfaced twenty years later.

 

JO MAZZOCCHI: But Dr Aspinall's statement only refers to the

allegations generally. PM understands the claims are linked to a case

that's currently before a court in Tasmania. This case involves a

former Anglican priest, Garth Stephen Hawkins who's facing more than

20 sex offence charges, allegedly committed between 1974 and 1984.

 

PM has been told one of the complainants in that case is the person Dr

Aspinall refers to in his statement.

 

PHILLIP ASPINALL: Let me be clear. This person's primary allegation is

not against me, but against someone else. The complainant's

accusations against this other person came before a Tasmanian church

tribunal last year. I gave evidence, I cannot detail the evidence that

was given, but I stress I was a witness before the tribunal and not

the subject of the tribunal's investigation.

 

JO MAZZOCCHI: The Anglican Archbishop then rejects a second allegation

against him that he and the accused person had been engaged in sexual

activity.

 

PHILLIP ASPINALL: I absolutely and totally reject this hearsay upon

hearsay allegation. It is as false as it is distressing and damaging.'

 

http://www.abc.net.a...003/s930323.htm

 

 

 

 

 

2.

'THE Anglican Primate of Australia, Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, has

been accused of failing to act on evidence of child sexual abuse by

the victim of a pedophile priest who was jailed this week.

 

The Queensland man, who was sexually abused over three years as a

teenager by the priest, claimed Archbishop Aspinall did not tell

police about an incriminating letter he was sent in 2002 -- just four

months after he was appointed head of the Brisbane diocese.

 

On Thursday, Robert Francis Sharwood, 62, was sentenced in the

Brisbane District Court to two years and nine months' jail, suspended

after he served a year.

 

The June 26, 2002 letter, which referred to an incident at a local

parish for which Sharwood had apologised to the victim's parents, was

sent to Archbishop Aspinall by priest Thomas Hood, who was protesting

against Sharwood's sacking as the chaplain at the prestigious Brisbane

Anglican private boys school, Churchie, where he had worked since 1985.

 

 

Hood and the senior clerics did not report the crime to police.

 

Archbishop Aspinall - appointed Primate in September last year -

yesterday conceded he had not referred the 2002 letter to police, with

the victim only learning of its existence 18 months later when he

obtained it in the legal discovery process.

 

But he insisted he and the church had acted in accordance with police

requests.

 

"Police request us to deal with this information in a particular way.

They say report the matter to them as soon as it comes to you and hold

all the information you have in a file together, keep it secure and

when we want the information we will come and get it. That is exactly

what we did in this instance," he said.

 

But the victim, still a churchgoer, said Archbishop Aspinall should

have told him about the letter. "Archbishop Aspinall did not disclose

in all our meetings that he had that letter.

 

"It would have been reasonable for him to mention that he had a letter

about the abuse and that it said both my parents knew.

 

"My wife and I did not know that my parents knew.

 

"Had we known that in 2002, we could have succeeded in our civil

action against the church, because my mother was alive then and could

have given evidence."

 

Just four days before receiving Hood's letter, Archbishop Aspinall, in

his presidential address to the Synod of the Brisbane diocese, vowed

to tackle child sex abuse in the church head on. "The only way we can

move on is if we face the hurtful reality of what has happened, extend

care and support to those harmed and take steps to ensure as far as

possible that it never happens again," he said.'

 

 

http://www.theaustra...f-1111112505188

 

 

3.

'First, there is a missing June 1998 letter from the then bishop of

Tasmania, Phillip Newel, to the Adelaide diocese warning about the

abusive behaviours of a man who would later be exposed as a one of

Australia's most rampant pedophiles, Robert Brandenburg.

 

During the course of Brandenburg's 30-year "career" with the Church of

England Boys Society in South Australia and Tasmania, the board of

inquiry says, "it is possible that his victims numbered in excess of 80

young lads".

 

In its attempt to establish who among the church hierarchy knew about

Brandenburg and what they did about him, the board notes testimony from

a witness, POI2, that Brandenburg fondled him and other boys on holiday

in Tasmania in about 1977-78.

 

POI2 said a complaint to his parents led to a meeting with an Anglican

office- holder, POI23, at which Brandenburg had admitted the alleged

conduct and was reprimanded.

 

This is the earliest time at which the Anglican Church appears to have

become aware of Brandenburg's abuse and the reports says "it appears

that nothing further was done at the time".

 

"Brandenburg thereafter continued a course of more serious abuse of POI2

until about 1981," the board says.

 

More than 20 years later, an item appeared in the newspaper of the

northwest Tasmanian town of Burnie in which Brandenburg was named as a

pedophile. This appears to be the first whiff of public exposure of

Brandenburg and it immediately gained the attention of the Tasmanian

Anglican hierarchy.

 

It is clear the board of inquiry is incredulous that nobody in the

Anglican Church acted against Brandenburg from the time Anglican

officers became aware of complaints in 1977, perhaps earlier. The

position of Phillip Aspinall in the "shell game" of who knew what and

when was clearly of interest to the board of inquiry.

 

Aspinall became involved in CEBS in Tasmania, first as a boy in the

1970s, then in 1980 as field officer, state secretary, national delegate

and leader and training commissioner. He knew three CEBS leaders known

to have abused boys: two Tasmanian priests since jailed, including Louis

Daniels and Brandenburg, from the Adelaide parish of Magill.

 

In June 1998, just before Brandenburg's abuse was reported in the

Tasmanian press, Aspinall moved from Tasmania to Adelaide, where he was

consecrated an assistant bishop.

 

Since early 2002, Aspinall has been the Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane,

where he played a pivotal role in the resignation of his predecessor,

former governor-general Peter Hollingworth, over the handling of sexual

abuse in the Brisbane diocese of the church.

 

Despite the letter Newell sent to Adelaide and Aspinall's long history

with CEBS, it was his testimony to the board of inquiry that Brandenburg

had not been discussed with Newell. Further, Aspinall denies ever seeing

the letter from Newell advising of Brandenburg and Daniels's then

alleged sex abuse.

 

"It remains a mystery as to what happened to the letter," the board says. '

 

http://www.bishop-ac...l_DioceseOf.htm

 

4.

 

'TANYA NOLAN: Archbishop Aspinall has had his fair share of bad media

as well.

 

He has publicly denied allegations that when he was a youth group

leader more than 20 years ago, he facilitated the sexual abuse of a

young Tasmanian man, whom he had arranged to share a priest's bed.

 

Then he was questioned over his association with three known

paedophiles while assistant bishop of Adelaide.

 

Steve Fisher from Survivors Investigating Child Sexual Abuse says

although he was surprised, he will keep an open mind about Dr

Aspinall's appointment as Primate. But he says some burning questions

remain.

 

STEVE FISHER: Given his position within the Church of England Boys'

Society, and given his friendships with known convicted paedophiles,

we are finding it very hard to believe that he could not have

conceivably known that there was something going on at that time.

 

TANYA NOLAN: Dr Aspinall denies any impropriety and says none of these

issues preclude him from carrying out the role of Primate effectively.

 

PHILLIP ASPINALL: Look, I don't know what anyone can do about the kind

of guilt by association implication. Those three people would've known

literally hundreds and thousands of people.

 

And one of the things about paedophiles we know is that they are very

secretive about what they do. They conceal it even from close family

members. So to say that just because a person knew people they

necessarily knew of their behaviour, I just don't think stands up.'

 

http://www.abc.net.a...05/s1411518.htm

 

See no evil, hear no evil, Bishop Aspinall?

 

Anyway, that is the end of my own 'epic rant'. Hope you found it interesting if off-topic, especially the person who wrote the original post above.

 

To go back 'on-topic' I am still not sure if I am fully comfortable with the idea of this Deathlist but, in the spirit of the site, I will wager you $5.00 that Maggie T is gone by May Day.

 

 

Thanks for all of that information - the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane/Archbishop Aspinall certainly provoke strong reactions in people... I didn't realise this thread would quite take off like this.

 

I hadn't heard anyone refer to it as the "Diocese of Sleaze" before - don't know whether to laugh or cry at that.

 

Anyway, I actually saw Archbishop Phillip Aspinall on television last night for the first time in ages giving his Easter address - he certainly did look VERY pale and gaunt again but I have no idea now if there is anything wrong with him or if it is just the stress of the job/heat inside the stuffy cathedral (it is still really hot in Brisbane even as we head into Autumn) as my friend suggested.

 

I would say, given his youth, he is very much an outside shot at a death, though, but fun to keep an eye on, given the ire he seems to raise.

 

 

On the interesting points raised above, though, I will make a few comments:

 

1. Yes, I find it a bit laughable that the Church constantly wring their hands about not attracting youth and worrying about congregations shrinking when they are so pro-military and in support of the status quo. Most young Aussies with a conscience are fairly anti-war these days (I speak in general terms). It is interesting to hear about the steady trickle of people to alternative forms of Christianity like the Quakers - I had no idea about that. You normally hear about people leaving churches in disillusion or becoming out-and-out militant atheists but it is interesting that these alternative, pacifist Christian groups are the ones that are doing well.

 

I guess the thing that is tough for Phillip Aspinall is that the Anglican Church is still WAAAAY too tied to the establishment - although Australia doesn't have an official state religion, the C of E is by default so it can't really reflect Jesus' radical teachings, which I think is the point Lux was trying to say.

 

Secondly, according to my friend, the Diocese of Brisbane doesn't just take in the City but rural areas quite a long way inland too and these can be very redneck - think Australia's equivalent to the US deep south. As a result, there is some very nutty/fundamentalist/ultra-conservative stuff going on in the rural churches. Aspinall should probably grow a pair of balls and knock their heads together, I guess but that probably won't happen - it "isn't the way" of an Anglican bishop, even an authoritarian one. The rednecks are as far removed from cuddly Vicar of Dibley types as possible though.

 

 

2. With regard to the "Diocese of Sleaze" thing - I didn't know much about groups like this "Oratory of the Good Shepherd" but I asked a few contacts in the loop and, yes, they are a group of uber-gay monks. Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with that...

 

The local Franciscans are apparently a fairly dubious bunch, too.

 

 

3. That other stuff that was posted about Phillip Aspinall being at *least* on the margins of sex abuse in three states is bloody scary. He knew nothing each time... Why is child abuse so endemic in churches of all persuasions these days?! :(

 

4. As well as driving the kids away with their pro-establishment stance, the Anglican schools are all elitist - you have to be very well-off to send your kid to one so the average devout church-goer couldn't possibly send their child to a church school, even if they wanted to. Other religious groups don't charge as much for their schools. So, straight away, children are excluded and told only the wealthy need apply. At the same time, they are expected to hand over money on the collection plate every week, some of which would go to these schools that they will never be able to attend.

 

Well, I have to confess I was raised an Anglican (in a different part of Aus) so I do have a soft spot for the old C of E (despite its self-inflicted woes) but the problems here in Brisbane sound so bad it is hard to see how they will recover any credibility - between child abuse, bloody rednecks, "Diocese of Sleaze" monks and keeping themselves so tied to the State and refusing to stand up to the government on fairly major moral issues like the increasing militarisation of Australia, it sounds like the ultimate in religious nightmares. I have heard Sydney is just as bad - they have gone completely puritanical. The lunatics are running the asylum. Richard Dawkins must be having a field day.

 

 

EDIT/UPDATE: Just saw Phillip Aspinall on television again on a different Easter news clip - definitely gaunt but it was hard to tell how pale he was due to the lighting. I still think he is a very remote chance for us, though.

 

EDIT/UPDATE 2: I just found this - It transpires that Phillip Aspinall's Easter sermon was on "the evils of the internet"!!! See: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/archbishop-laments-evils-of-the-internet/story-e6frg6nf-1226320522828

 

He must have been reading about himself on this forum! What is the matter, Archbishop? Does social media threaten your little autocracy, mate? As I was saying, they sure know how to alienate youth with their comments... Aspinall probably just managed to drive away virtually every kid using Twitter/Facebook/MySpace in the country, not to mention all of us business users with his hysterical outburst...

 

Aspinall doesn't look as unwell in that photo as he did on television a few hours ago.

 

 

P. S: As for Lux's other point about Maggie being gone (very poetically) by May Day, time is running out - maybe the UK summer will do her in instead.

[Guest Guest]

do you seriously expect anyone to read through that last post? !

[Spade_Cooley 9,019]

I haven't seen him deliver it but radio reports are that accused paedophile/Archbishop of Brisbane Phillip Aspinall was pale and incoherent when giving one of his Christmas Day speeches. He was only born in '59 though so I am not expecting anything to be too seriously wrong with him.

 

It seems that Phillip Aspinall's Wikipedia page has been the subject of a recent edit war. Before the last wave of edits chopped out most of the content, it showed that his tenure as head of the Diocese of Brisbane has not been a particularly happy one:

 

 

***

Career

 

He was consecrated a bishop in Adelaide on 29 June 1998 where he served as assistant bishop until December 2001.

 

In 2003, he was implicated in a sexual abuse scandal. This was widely reported in the national news at the time. [1]

 

During his tenure, the pro-homosexual Anglo-Catholic clergy organisation, the Oratory of the Good Shepherd has been allowed to flourish. Another notable event in his reign has been the completion of St John's Cathedral, Brisbane.

 

Controversially, the cathedral includes a souvenir shop within its walls which many parishioners find inappropriate. Also highly controversial has been the installation of reserved pews for politicians and members of the military. [3]

 

He was elected Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia in 2005. He has an authoritarian, centralist leadership style and has tried to silence any form of dissent. This has led to a culture of intimidation. For instance, priests are not inclined to publish their sermons on their parish websites for fear of reprimand.

 

By his own admission, Archbishop Aspinall was caught off-guard by "No Religion" campaign that was launched by an atheist lobby group in the lead-up to the 2011 Census. [4]

 

Throughout his career, the Anglo-Catholic Aspinall has been in a power struggle with the evangelical Archbishop Peter Jensen from the Anglican Diocese of Sydney. As a result of this, priests who have graduated from Moore Theological College are not permitted to preach in Brisbane.

 

In terms of social justice issues, Aspinall has spoken out against the ill-treatment of asylum seekers [5] but has provided very little support to international social justice organisations active in his diocese, such as the Tearfund, Anglican Pacifist Fellowship and the local environmental group, Angligreen. He has, however, shown support for women bishops [6] against the wishes of the local branch of the conservative lobby group, Forward in Faith.

 

During the 2011 Diocese of Brisbane Synod, Aspinall's deputy, Bishop Jonathan Holland, stifled a motion that would have led to an investigation into alleged malpractice at Saint Francis' Theological College, at which most of the diocese's priests are trained. [7]

 

A motion raised that would have lead to Anglican Church schools shifting focus away from academic elitism towards producing good Christians was also quashed at this synod [8]

 

Aspinall has also encouraged new money-making ventures for the Diocese. During the time of the Cathedral's construction, several fundraising efforts were made. He has also initiated ventures to allow parishioners to tithe via direct debit and leave their estates to the Church by distributing information about creating wills that favour the Diocese. [9]

***

 

So Phillip Aspinall is a bullying, authoritarian. money-grubbing pro-military, class-conscious elitist... Under him, Anglicanism in Brisbane really does sound like it has been reduced to nothing more than the last shadow of the British Empire then. :(

 

Just discovered this website when Googling for info on Phillip Aspinall. What an 'interesting' concept a death list is. Still not sure I am entirely comfortable with the idea...

 

Anyway, no, Aspinall appears to be in perfect health. I agree with the self-proclaimed 'rant' above though - I know from personal experience there are lots of problems in the Diocese of Brisbane. Phillip Aspinall is a mixture of conservative and liberal - he supports women priests and stood up to the (conservative) Howard government for workers and the rights of asylum seekers yet he runs his own diocese as a conservative centralist and quickly silences any priest who says anything remotely controversial.

 

On the other hand he appeases too much. As the person above rightly notes he did very, very little to oppose Iraq and has not done anything to support Christian anti-war activists. Same for environmentalists - he tries to appease conservatives by silencing anyone who speaks out on these issues. Compared to New Zealand bishops, he is very conservative and, to be frank, very disappointing. By trying to appease all he forgets to stand up for the gospel. As the church failed to speak out loudly enough for peace, Aspinall has to take his share of blame for the slaughter of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan and the increasingly pro-military pro-nationalist mindset in Australia. This is a fundamental failure to proclaim the pacifist Gospel of Jesus. He has aligned the church too closely with the world (the State) and has not stood apart. There is a small but steady exodus of parishioners from the Anglican church in Brisbane to alternative forms of Christianity like the Quakers and this is the reason why!

 

Aspinall is also very political on the issue of ecumenism - it is really up to Christians at the 'grassroots' to work together as it will take decades more for us to see any progress with regards to cooperation and joint ventures between churches at a formal level. it is all about bureaucracy at this stage.

 

Yes, Brisbane has a troubled history with a lot of sexual abuse. Aspinall has cleaned up some of this but he does turn a blind eye to the 'Oratory of the Good Shepherd', many members of which are sexual deviants. Again strange that he is proactive in some areas but turns a blind eye in others. That is part of the reason why Brisbane is sometimes known, very sadly, as the 'Diocese of Sleaze'.

 

I think the biggest problem is his advisors. to be part of the inner clique at Brisbane you have to be either a lawyer or an academic and the Diocese reflects that insular, elitist, arrogant mindset. If you approach them to discuss an issue or advise and are not part of the clique they will just laugh at you.

 

Also, as the person above noted, Bishop Jonathan Holland strikes me as very ambitious and cunning, not typical qualities of a 'man of God.' If Aspinall ever resigns I dread to think what the Diocese would be like with him in charge.

 

Of course, the most damning stuff is the allegations of sexual misconduct. Here are some samples from the media. I have no idea if the allegations are true or not:

 

 

1.

'In a statement read to journalists, this is part of what he had to say:

 

PHILLIP ASPINALL: A person contacted me just after I had become

Brisbane's Anglican Archbishop alleging that he was sexually abused by

a priest in Tasmania over twenty years ago.

 

He alleged that I had arranged for him to share the bed of the priest

who subsequently abused him. I absolutely and totally rejected this

allegation then, as I do now. Independent witnesses also reject the

allegation.

 

JO MAZZOCCHI: Dr Aspinall concedes he did know the complainant at the

time of the alleged incident.

 

PHILLIP ASPINALL: At the time of the alleged assault by the priest,

the person who contacted me, and I, were both young adults and both

church youth group leaders. I was 22, and he was 18. I was not a priest.

 

Both of us were part of a group of adult friends who were staying

overnight at the accused person's house.

 

I absolutely and totally reject the assertion that I arranged for this

person to share the accused person's bed. There was no suggestion of

any untoward behaviour until this allegation surfaced twenty years later.

 

JO MAZZOCCHI: But Dr Aspinall's statement only refers to the

allegations generally. PM understands the claims are linked to a case

that's currently before a court in Tasmania. This case involves a

former Anglican priest, Garth Stephen Hawkins who's facing more than

20 sex offence charges, allegedly committed between 1974 and 1984.

 

PM has been told one of the complainants in that case is the person Dr

Aspinall refers to in his statement.

 

PHILLIP ASPINALL: Let me be clear. This person's primary allegation is

not against me, but against someone else. The complainant's

accusations against this other person came before a Tasmanian church

tribunal last year. I gave evidence, I cannot detail the evidence that

was given, but I stress I was a witness before the tribunal and not

the subject of the tribunal's investigation.

 

JO MAZZOCCHI: The Anglican Archbishop then rejects a second allegation

against him that he and the accused person had been engaged in sexual

activity.

 

PHILLIP ASPINALL: I absolutely and totally reject this hearsay upon

hearsay allegation. It is as false as it is distressing and damaging.'

 

http://www.abc.net.a...003/s930323.htm

 

 

 

 

 

2.

'THE Anglican Primate of Australia, Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, has

been accused of failing to act on evidence of child sexual abuse by

the victim of a pedophile priest who was jailed this week.

 

The Queensland man, who was sexually abused over three years as a

teenager by the priest, claimed Archbishop Aspinall did not tell

police about an incriminating letter he was sent in 2002 -- just four

months after he was appointed head of the Brisbane diocese.

 

On Thursday, Robert Francis Sharwood, 62, was sentenced in the

Brisbane District Court to two years and nine months' jail, suspended

after he served a year.

 

The June 26, 2002 letter, which referred to an incident at a local

parish for which Sharwood had apologised to the victim's parents, was

sent to Archbishop Aspinall by priest Thomas Hood, who was protesting

against Sharwood's sacking as the chaplain at the prestigious Brisbane

Anglican private boys school, Churchie, where he had worked since 1985.

 

 

Hood and the senior clerics did not report the crime to police.

 

Archbishop Aspinall - appointed Primate in September last year -

yesterday conceded he had not referred the 2002 letter to police, with

the victim only learning of its existence 18 months later when he

obtained it in the legal discovery process.

 

But he insisted he and the church had acted in accordance with police

requests.

 

"Police request us to deal with this information in a particular way.

They say report the matter to them as soon as it comes to you and hold

all the information you have in a file together, keep it secure and

when we want the information we will come and get it. That is exactly

what we did in this instance," he said.

 

But the victim, still a churchgoer, said Archbishop Aspinall should

have told him about the letter. "Archbishop Aspinall did not disclose

in all our meetings that he had that letter.

 

"It would have been reasonable for him to mention that he had a letter

about the abuse and that it said both my parents knew.

 

"My wife and I did not know that my parents knew.

 

"Had we known that in 2002, we could have succeeded in our civil

action against the church, because my mother was alive then and could

have given evidence."

 

Just four days before receiving Hood's letter, Archbishop Aspinall, in

his presidential address to the Synod of the Brisbane diocese, vowed

to tackle child sex abuse in the church head on. "The only way we can

move on is if we face the hurtful reality of what has happened, extend

care and support to those harmed and take steps to ensure as far as

possible that it never happens again," he said.'

 

 

http://www.theaustra...f-1111112505188

 

 

3.

'First, there is a missing June 1998 letter from the then bishop of

Tasmania, Phillip Newel, to the Adelaide diocese warning about the

abusive behaviours of a man who would later be exposed as a one of

Australia's most rampant pedophiles, Robert Brandenburg.

 

During the course of Brandenburg's 30-year "career" with the Church of

England Boys Society in South Australia and Tasmania, the board of

inquiry says, "it is possible that his victims numbered in excess of 80

young lads".

 

In its attempt to establish who among the church hierarchy knew about

Brandenburg and what they did about him, the board notes testimony from

a witness, POI2, that Brandenburg fondled him and other boys on holiday

in Tasmania in about 1977-78.

 

POI2 said a complaint to his parents led to a meeting with an Anglican

office- holder, POI23, at which Brandenburg had admitted the alleged

conduct and was reprimanded.

 

This is the earliest time at which the Anglican Church appears to have

become aware of Brandenburg's abuse and the reports says "it appears

that nothing further was done at the time".

 

"Brandenburg thereafter continued a course of more serious abuse of POI2

until about 1981," the board says.

 

More than 20 years later, an item appeared in the newspaper of the

northwest Tasmanian town of Burnie in which Brandenburg was named as a

pedophile. This appears to be the first whiff of public exposure of

Brandenburg and it immediately gained the attention of the Tasmanian

Anglican hierarchy.

 

It is clear the board of inquiry is incredulous that nobody in the

Anglican Church acted against Brandenburg from the time Anglican

officers became aware of complaints in 1977, perhaps earlier. The

position of Phillip Aspinall in the "shell game" of who knew what and

when was clearly of interest to the board of inquiry.

 

Aspinall became involved in CEBS in Tasmania, first as a boy in the

1970s, then in 1980 as field officer, state secretary, national delegate

and leader and training commissioner. He knew three CEBS leaders known

to have abused boys: two Tasmanian priests since jailed, including Louis

Daniels and Brandenburg, from the Adelaide parish of Magill.

 

In June 1998, just before Brandenburg's abuse was reported in the

Tasmanian press, Aspinall moved from Tasmania to Adelaide, where he was

consecrated an assistant bishop.

 

Since early 2002, Aspinall has been the Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane,

where he played a pivotal role in the resignation of his predecessor,

former governor-general Peter Hollingworth, over the handling of sexual

abuse in the Brisbane diocese of the church.

 

Despite the letter Newell sent to Adelaide and Aspinall's long history

with CEBS, it was his testimony to the board of inquiry that Brandenburg

had not been discussed with Newell. Further, Aspinall denies ever seeing

the letter from Newell advising of Brandenburg and Daniels's then

alleged sex abuse.

 

"It remains a mystery as to what happened to the letter," the board says. '

 

http://www.bishop-ac...l_DioceseOf.htm

 

4.

 

'TANYA NOLAN: Archbishop Aspinall has had his fair share of bad media

as well.

 

He has publicly denied allegations that when he was a youth group

leader more than 20 years ago, he facilitated the sexual abuse of a

young Tasmanian man, whom he had arranged to share a priest's bed.

 

Then he was questioned over his association with three known

paedophiles while assistant bishop of Adelaide.

 

Steve Fisher from Survivors Investigating Child Sexual Abuse says

although he was surprised, he will keep an open mind about Dr

Aspinall's appointment as Primate. But he says some burning questions

remain.

 

STEVE FISHER: Given his position within the Church of England Boys'

Society, and given his friendships with known convicted paedophiles,

we are finding it very hard to believe that he could not have

conceivably known that there was something going on at that time.

 

TANYA NOLAN: Dr Aspinall denies any impropriety and says none of these

issues preclude him from carrying out the role of Primate effectively.

 

PHILLIP ASPINALL: Look, I don't know what anyone can do about the kind

of guilt by association implication. Those three people would've known

literally hundreds and thousands of people.

 

And one of the things about paedophiles we know is that they are very

secretive about what they do. They conceal it even from close family

members. So to say that just because a person knew people they

necessarily knew of their behaviour, I just don't think stands up.'

 

http://www.abc.net.a...05/s1411518.htm

 

See no evil, hear no evil, Bishop Aspinall?

 

Anyway, that is the end of my own 'epic rant'. Hope you found it interesting if off-topic, especially the person who wrote the original post above.

 

To go back 'on-topic' I am still not sure if I am fully comfortable with the idea of this Deathlist but, in the spirit of the site, I will wager you $5.00 that Maggie T is gone by May Day.

 

 

Thanks for all of that information - the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane/Archbishop Aspinall certainly provoke strong reactions in people... I didn't realise this thread would quite take off like this.

 

I hadn't heard anyone refer to it as the "Diocese of Sleaze" before - don't know whether to laugh or cry at that.

 

Anyway, I actually saw Archbishop Phillip Aspinall on television last night for the first time in ages giving his Easter address - he certainly did look VERY pale and gaunt again but I have no idea now if there is anything wrong with him or if it is just the stress of the job/heat inside the stuffy cathedral (it is still really hot in Brisbane even as we head into Autumn) as my friend suggested.

 

I would say, given his youth, he is very much an outside shot at a death, though, but fun to keep an eye on, given the ire he seems to raise.

 

 

On the interesting points raised above, though, I will make a few comments:

 

1. Yes, I find it a bit laughable that the Church constantly wring their hands about not attracting youth and worrying about congregations shrinking when they are so pro-military and in support of the status quo. Most young Aussies with a conscience are fairly anti-war these days (I speak in general terms). It is interesting to hear about the steady trickle of people to alternative forms of Christianity like the Quakers - I had no idea about that. You normally hear about people leaving churches in disillusion or becoming out-and-out militant atheists but it is interesting that these alternative, pacifist Christian groups are the ones that are doing well.

 

I guess the thing that is tough for Phillip Aspinall is that the Anglican Church is still WAAAAY too tied to the establishment - although Australia doesn't have an official state religion, the C of E is by default so it can't really reflect Jesus' radical teachings, which I think is the point Lux was trying to say.

 

Secondly, according to my friend, the Diocese of Brisbane doesn't just take in the City but rural areas quite a long way inland too and these can be very redneck - think Australia's equivalent to the US deep south. As a result, there is some very nutty/fundamentalist/ultra-conservative stuff going on in the rural churches. Aspinall should probably grow a pair of balls and knock their heads together, I guess but that probably won't happen - it "isn't the way" of an Anglican bishop, even an authoritarian one. The rednecks are as far removed from cuddly Vicar of Dibley types as possible though.

 

 

2. With regard to the "Diocese of Sleaze" thing - I didn't know much about groups like this "Oratory of the Good Shepherd" but I asked a few contacts in the loop and, yes, they are a group of uber-gay monks. Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with that...

 

The local Franciscans are apparently a fairly dubious bunch, too.

 

 

3. That other stuff that was posted about Phillip Aspinall being at *least* on the margins of sex abuse in three states is bloody scary. He knew nothing each time... Why is child abuse so endemic in churches of all persuasions these days?! :(

 

4. As well as driving the kids away with their pro-establishment stance, the Anglican schools are all elitist - you have to be very well-off to send your kid to one so the average devout church-goer couldn't possibly send their child to a church school, even if they wanted to. Other religious groups don't charge as much for their schools. So, straight away, children are excluded and told only the wealthy need apply. At the same time, they are expected to hand over money on the collection plate every week, some of which would go to these schools that they will never be able to attend.

 

Well, I have to confess I was raised an Anglican (in a different part of Aus) so I do have a soft spot for the old C of E (despite its self-inflicted woes) but the problems here in Brisbane sound so bad it is hard to see how they will recover any credibility - between child abuse, bloody rednecks, "Diocese of Sleaze" monks and keeping themselves so tied to the State and refusing to stand up to the government on fairly major moral issues like the increasing militarisation of Australia, it sounds like the ultimate in religious nightmares. I have heard Sydney is just as bad - they have gone completely puritanical. The lunatics are running the asylum. Richard Dawkins must be having a field day.

 

 

EDIT/UPDATE: Just saw Phillip Aspinall on television again on a different Easter news clip - definitely gaunt but it was hard to tell how pale he was due to the lighting. I still think he is a very remote chance for us, though.

 

EDIT/UPDATE 2: I just found this - It transpires that Phillip Aspinall's Easter sermon was on "the evils of the internet"!!! See: http://www.theaustra...f-1226320522828

 

He must have been reading about himself on this forum! What is the matter, Archbishop? Does social media threaten your little autocracy, mate? As I was saying, they sure know how to alienate youth with their comments... Aspinall probably just managed to drive away virtually every kid using Twitter/Facebook/MySpace in the country, not to mention all of us business users with his hysterical outburst...

 

Aspinall doesn't look as unwell in that photo as he did on television a few hours ago.

 

 

P. S: As for Lux's other point about Maggie being gone (very poetically) by May Day, time is running out - maybe the UK summer will do her in instead.

 

[angryGreatness 96]

Nguyen Van Thien, the oldest living Catholic bishop, has died aged 106.

 

No English obit at this time.

[Guest holy joe]

Nguyen Van Thien, the oldest living Catholic bishop, has died aged 106.

 

No English obit at this time.

 

about time too! i've had him on my deadpool list for the last 12 years!

[adrian0719 210]

This saga has gotta be over soon; 102-year-old rabbi and Haredi leader Yosef Shalom Elyashiv's health has deteriorated to "very grave" after being hospitalised for organ failure.

[adrian0719 210]

This saga has gotta be over soon; 102-year-old rabbi and Haredi leader Yosef Shalom Elyashiv's health has deteriorated to "very grave" after being hospitalised for organ failure.

 

Dead

[JR976evil 885]

This saga has gotta be over soon; 102-year-old rabbi and Haredi leader Yosef Shalom Elyashiv's health has deteriorated to "very grave" after being hospitalised for organ failure.

 

Dead

 

Gone from "very grave" to in the grave : )

[Octopus of Odstock 1,855]

Former DDP pick (by MPFC, I thinK), Prof. Rev Christopher Evans, has died at the grand old age of 102. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/religion-obituaries/9473329/The-Rev-Professor-Christopher-Evans.html

[adrian0719 210]

Founder of Unification Church, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, 93, is being treated for pneumonia in South Korea. His family is at his side and he's pretty much on deathwatch.

[Bibliogryphon 8,644]

Founder of Unification Church, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, 93, is being treated for pneumonia in South Korea. His family is at his side and he's pretty much on deathwatch.

 

Damn - I was going to include him for 2013.

 

But it ain't over until Adele....

[DevonDeathTrip 2,288]

His Holiness Abuna Paulos, Fifth Patriarch of Ethiopia, 76, has died of a heart attack.

[Paul Bearer 5,645]

Founder of Unification Church, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, 93, is being treated for pneumonia in South Korea. His family is at his side and he's pretty much on deathwatch.

 

Damn - I was going to include him for 2013.

 

But it ain't over until Adele....

 

Guess shes singing away now.

[Bibliogryphon 8,644]

Founder of Unification Church, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, 93, is being treated for pneumonia in South Korea. His family is at his side and he's pretty much on deathwatch.

 

Damn - I was going to include him for 2013.

 

But it ain't over until Adele....

 

Guess shes singing away now.

 

I have already identified a suitable replacement! In the end I needed two because I had Hal David as well

[DevonDeathTrip 2,288]

I have recently unearthed several ecclesatical leaders, who are very aged or in frail health. Sadly none of them are really famous enough to qualify for their own thread, but I would think most of them should get an obit in the UK.

 

It has been a spiritually enriching experience, reading about the exploits of fine fellows below. Feel free to add any men of God I might have missed:

 

Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria

Archbishop Christodoulos

Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria

Whakahuihui Vercoe of Rotorua

Cahal Cardinal Daly

Pavle, Patriarch of Serbia

The Most Reverend and Most Holy Father, His Beatitude Ignatius IV, Patriarch of Antioch, the Great City of God, of Syria, Lebanon, Arabia, Cilicia, Mesopotamia and all the East

 

I predict they will all be dead within 2 3 4 5 years.

 

Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria, who will be 98 in October, has been hospitalised due to his "advanced age"...

[adrian0719 210]

I have recently unearthed several ecclesatical leaders, who are very aged or in frail health. Sadly none of them are really famous enough to qualify for their own thread, but I would think most of them should get an obit in the UK.

 

It has been a spiritually enriching experience, reading about the exploits of fine fellows below. Feel free to add any men of God I might have missed:

 

Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria

Archbishop Christodoulos

Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria

Whakahuihui Vercoe of Rotorua

Cahal Cardinal Daly

Pavle, Patriarch of Serbia

The Most Reverend and Most Holy Father, His Beatitude Ignatius IV, Patriarch of Antioch, the Great City of God, of Syria, Lebanon, Arabia, Cilicia, Mesopotamia and all the East

 

I predict they will all be dead within 2 3 4 5 years.

 

Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria, who will be 98 in October, has been hospitalised due to his "advanced age"...

 

I love the reason for hospitalisation

[JR976evil 885]

I have recently unearthed several ecclesatical leaders, who are very aged or in frail health. Sadly none of them are really famous enough to qualify for their own thread, but I would think most of them should get an obit in the UK.

 

It has been a spiritually enriching experience, reading about the exploits of fine fellows below. Feel free to add any men of God I might have missed:

 

Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria

Archbishop Christodoulos

Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria

Whakahuihui Vercoe of Rotorua

Cahal Cardinal Daly

Pavle, Patriarch of Serbia

The Most Reverend and Most Holy Father, His Beatitude Ignatius IV, Patriarch of Antioch, the Great City of God, of Syria, Lebanon, Arabia, Cilicia, Mesopotamia and all the East

 

I predict they will all be dead within 2 3 4 5 years.

 

Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria, who will be 98 in October, has been hospitalised due to his "advanced age"...

 

I love the reason for hospitalisation

 

"look at how old he is, he's bound to get something sooner or later!"

[Banshees Scream 107]

Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria, who will be 98 in October, has been hospitalised due to his "advanced age"...

 

I knew this post would happen, Devon. For several months now I've been anticipating a mention of his decline. I think of him as somewhat of a replacement for Pavle but less popular. As majestic and ancient as he may be, I predict that he will maxout this year.

[DevonDeathTrip 2,288]

Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria, who will be 98 in October, has been hospitalised due to his "advanced age"...

 

I knew this post would happen, Devon. For several months now I've been anticipating a mention of his decline. I think of him as somewhat of a replacement for Pavle but less popular. As majestic and ancient as he may be, I predict that he will maxout this year.

 

It could be close. Patriarch Maxim to withdraw from public life.

[themaninblack 2,112]

This, if only for its diocese...

[Guest Guest]

Top bible scholar Frank Moore Cross has died at 91 http://jamestabor.co...dead-at-age-91/

[DevonDeathTrip 2,288]

Meanwhile, in Texas:

 

Man rams church, chases down pastor, beats him to death with electric guitar

 

That really is no way to treat an expensive musical instrument.

[adrian0719 210]

I have recently unearthed several ecclesatical leaders, who are very aged or in frail health. Sadly none of them are really famous enough to qualify for their own thread, but I would think most of them should get an obit in the UK.

 

It has been a spiritually enriching experience, reading about the exploits of fine fellows below. Feel free to add any men of God I might have missed:

 

Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria

Archbishop Christodoulos

Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria

Whakahuihui Vercoe of Rotorua

Cahal Cardinal Daly

Pavle, Patriarch of Serbia

The Most Reverend and Most Holy Father, His Beatitude Ignatius IV, Patriarch of Antioch, the Great City of God, of Syria, Lebanon, Arabia, Cilicia, Mesopotamia and all the East

 

I predict they will all be dead within 2 3 4 5 years.

 

Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria, who will be 98 in October, has been hospitalised due to his "advanced age"...

 

I love the reason for hospitalisation

 

"look at how old he is, he's bound to get something sooner or later!"

 

And he's gone.

[Guest Guest]

its been one hell of a day for religious deaths. The 3rd oldest catholic bishop in the world and the first black bishop to be ordained Joseph Oliver Bowers has died at 102. http://www.ghananews...95#.UJmN_WcTAh8