The Fourth Plenary Council of &

IAN B. WATERS /

In my study 'Australian Conciliar Legislation Prior to the 1917 Code of Canon Law'\ translated as 'Die Konzilien in Australien 1842-1917' and pub• lished as part of the 'Konziliengeschichte' series directed by Walter Brandmüller2, the six provincial and plenary councils celebrated in Australia prior to 1917 were examined. After that date, another council was celebrated - in 1937. That was omitted from my earlier study, because ac• cess to archival material at the concerning that council was im• possible at that time. Although I have not as yet had the opportunity to examine the material at the Holy See, which is now becoming accessible, I have been able to discover some information in other places, which indi• cates that the 1937 Council was vastly different to the preceding ones.

Death of Cardinal Moran Until1874, Australia was a single ecclesiastical province, so conciliar legis• lation until then was provincial. Plenary councils were held in Australia in 1885, 1895 and 1905 under the presidency of Cardinal Patrick \ Archbishop of Sydney. Moran had become Archbishop of Sydney in 1884 and was mandated by the Holy See, practically immediately, to convoke and preside over a plenary council. Moran saw hirnself as the head of the Australian church, and until his death in 1911 confidently, and somewhat triumphantly, guided it. The councils of 1895 and 1905 occurred because of his initiative. The Third Plenary Council in 1905 decreed that Sydney should be a primatial see, but the Holy See refused to permit this.

1 I. B. WATERS, Australian Conciliar Legislation prior to the 1917 Code of Canon Law: A Comparative Study with Similar Conciliar Legislation in Great Britain, Ireland and North America, Canadian Theses, no. 62334, Ottawa (National Library of Canada) 1991, 4 micro• fiches.

2 ID., Die Konzilien in Australien 1842-1917, Paderborn 1994 (= KonG.D).

3 Patrick Francis Moran (1830-1911), ordained priest 1853, Titular Bishop of and Co• adjutor of Ossory 1871-72, 1872-84, Archbishop of Sydney 1884-1911, cre• ated cardinal1885. 452 Ian B. Waters Among the reasons for refusal was that the Holy See wished to avoid anything that could be an obstacle to establishing an apostolic delegation4• Moran's successor in Sydney, Archbishop Michael KeHi, was anything but a charismatic leader. Moreover, within a few years of Moran's death, on 15 April 1914, established the Apostolic Delegation of Australasia, encompassing the two countries of Australia and New Zealand6• The Pope acted on the recommendation of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (= Propaganda), which reported that Moran, with his cardinatial dignity, wide experience, prudence and tact, served like an apostolic delegate. Now that he was dead, it was easy to see the need for a proper apostolic delegate who would be available at such a distance from when there were disputes or differences within the Church, and also to provide more precise and impartial information in the selection of bishopS 7. Archbishop Bonaventura Cerretti8 was appointed the first Apos• tolic Delegate and, despite some initial fears by the Australian bishops, served harmoniously. However, the relations with his successor, Arch• bishop Bartolomeo Cattaneo9, started to deteriorate as Cattaneo insisted on attending and presiding at meetings of the bishops, as weH as trying to implement rigorously all the prescriptions of the newly promulgated 1917 Code of Canon Law JO •

4 Acta et decreta Concilii plenarii Australiensis III habiti apud Sydney A.D. 1905, a Saneta Sede recognita (; Conc. plen. III), xxxvii; Archives for the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (; AP), Nuova Serie (; NS), vol. 512, ff. 537-538.

5 (1850-1940), ordained priest 1872, Titular Archbishop of Achrida and Co• adjutor of Sydney 1901-11, Archbishop of Sydney 1911-40.

6 Pius X, Apostolic letter In sublimi, 15 Apr. 1914 (Acta Apostolicae Sedis [; AAS], 6 [1914],223-224).

7 AP,Acta, vol. 287 (1914-1915), ff. 51-56.

8 Bonaventura Cerretti (1872-1933), ordained priest 1895, Titular Archbishop of Philip• popoli in Thracia 1914, Titular Archbishop of Corinth 1914-25, Apostolic Delegate to Austra• lia 1914-17, Secretary of the Sacred Congregation for Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs 1917-21, Apostolic to France 1921-31, created cardinal1925, Prefect of the 1931-33.

9 Bartolomeo Cattaneo ( 1866-1943), ordained priest 1894, Titular Archbishop of Palmyra 1917-43, Apostolic Delegate to Australasia 1917-33, Treasurer General of the Apostolic Cam• era 1933-43.

10 B. Cattaneo to M. Kelly, North Sydney, 16 Apr. 1919 (Sydney Archdiocesan Archives [; SAA], F1732, 1919).