May 2026 marks the fortieth anniversaries of the installations of the bishops of the then newly established dioceses of Parramatta and Broken Bay. Bishop Bede Heather was installed on 19 May 1986, as bishop of Parramatta and Bishop Patrick Murphy was installed as bishop of Broken Bay on 28 May 1986. Both were auxiliary bishops to Cardinal Edward Clancy with responsibility for the regions that became the new dioceses.
On 9 May 1986 Cardinal Clancy wrote a circular letter to all the priests and noted that this would be his last newsletter to the priests of the newly created dioceses. He wrote: “While I am quite sure that the creation of the new diocese is the right step, and one that I very warmly welcome, it is one that is not taken without a sense of loss.” After expressing appreciation for the support he had received during the process, he went on to write: “Of course, close cooperation and a special relationship will always be maintained among the three Sydney dioceses, and I do not need to say that diocesan boundaries do not cut across long established friendships.”
The process to set up the new dioceses had a long history.
We might begin the story of the division of the Archdiocese of Sydney with a letter dated 30 September 1971 from, Cardinal Angelo Rossi the Prefect o9f Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fidei to Archbishop James Freeman.
Cardinal Rossi then goes on to explain that this Sacred Congregation has two proposals for the division of Sydney, and a definitive decision may be reached after the Bishops of NSW have been heard. “Consequently, I would ask Your Grace to give your pondered opinion on the following two projects taking into consideration the special norms for the Parisian region which I’m also forwarding to you today.
- erection of two new dioceses: Parramatta and Chatswood
- the erection of three new dioceses: Parramatta, Liverpool, Pymble”
At the time there was a wider discussion about diocesan boundaries in Australia, and a committee had been established by the Australian Bishops.
Bishop A.R. E. Thomas then the national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies wrote to Archbishop Freeman on the 13 December 1971. He referred to various proposals for changes to dioceses in other states and referred to the “proposition of the committee for Revision of Boundaries.” Among the suggestions being talked about: dividing Canberra from Goulburn, retaining both; reconstructing Wilcannia-Forbes to Dubbo and transferring Broken Hill to Port Pirie; dividing Melbourne into three dioceses; dividing Sandhurst to have a new diocese in Wangaratta; dividing Ballarat into North and South; Diocdividing Hobart to make a small but viable diocese in Launceston. He indicated that with all the discussions that were required it would be unlikely that any report to Propaganda Fidei would go forward until 1973.
On 27 March 1972 Kevin Hilferty editor, sent to Archbishop Freeman the proof of an article to appear in the Catholic Weekly. This referred a newspaper report on the proposals to divide the Archdiocese of Sydney. Cardinal Feeman replied that shortly after he had succeeded Cardinal Gilroy he had received an official communication from the Holy See directing that the archdiocese be divided. However, since then he had further advice from the Holy See that while the principle of division remained, it was left to Cardinal Feeman and the Australian Bishops Conference to decide how and when the division should be made.
Following extensive consultation locally, Cardinal Freeman took a different approach. In 1978 he issued a formal decree. He decided against creating new dioceses in favour of dividing the archdiocese into regions. There would be five pastoral regions each with a regional Bishop terms and Episcopal vicar.
Soon after his installation in Sydney, Archbishop Clancy raised the matter again and began consultation on the subject. On 15 August 1984, he published a discussion paper showing proposed new boundaries and explaining the rationale for the division of Sydney into three dioceses. Through the Catholic Weekly he invited everybody interested for their opinion, either by way of short letters to the editor, or by the submission of more detailed written comment directed to the Council of Priests.
Having taken into account the various opinions expressed, Archbishop Clancy then forwarded the proposal to the Apostolic Nunciature in Canberra for submission to the Congregation of Bishops in Rome.
Despite thorough searches, neither the archives of the Sydney Archdiocese nor of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference can locate a copy of the submission that would reveal in detail Cardinal Clancy representations. The Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Charles Balvo very kindly approached the Congregation for Bishops, but the reply was disappointing: “I wrote to the Dicastery for Bishops regarding the establishment of the Dioceses of Parramatta and Broken Bay. Yesterday I got a reply from the Prefect informing me that the documents in which you are interested belong to a closed period and therefore are not accessible to researchers.”
Adoption for the proposal to establish the dioceses of Parramatta and Broken Bay came into effect on 8 April 1986.
Fr Brian Lucas is the president of the Australian Catholic Historical Society
