Retired Catholic Bishop Pat Power, known for speaking out on big issues including sexual abuse in the Catholic church, has died aged 83.
Ordained in 1965, Patrick Percival Power dedicated his life to helping vulnerable and disadvantaged people, serving as a priest in Braidwood, Goulburn and Canberra.
He became auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn in 1986, a role he held for more than 25 years.
Affectionately known as ‘Father Pat’, he became one the church’s more progressive leaders, questioning the need for priests to be celibate and for women to be excluded from senior roles.
“He was loved and revered as an outspoken supporter for the poor and marginalised,” Canberra and Goulburn Archbishop Christopher Prowse said.
“[He was] a man of a profound humanity who always sided with the ones who were in struggle street, the marginalised, and if appropriate he became a very articulate spokesperson for them.”
Bishop Power was known for speaking out about sexual abuse perpetrated by priests. (Supplied: Archbishop Christopher Prowse)
Archbishop Prowse said the greatest legacy left by Bishop Power was his belief in “the dignity of the human person” no matter their situation.
“He was able to understand that human beings are not to be seen as second-rate, or to be moved to the side, but that those that are struggling their dignity had to be … amplified out to the world,” he said.
Born in 1942 in Cooma and raised in Queanbeyan, Bishop Power was named Canberra Citizen of the Year in 2009.
Archbishop Christopher Prowse reading Bishop Power’s book Joy and Hope: Pilgrim Priest and Bishop. (ABC News: Emily Anderson)
A tireless campaigner
Bishop Power was a familiar face and uncompromising public voice for the marginalised, urging government support for Palestinian statehood and protesting the treatment of refugees.
His progressive attitude led to clashes with the church hierarchy and political leaders, including with then-prime minister John Howard.
During his ministry, and well after, Bishop Power worked to make the church more relevant.
Bishop Power speaking with then-prime minister John Howard. (ABC News)
At the time of his retirement at the age of 70 in 2012, he called on the Vatican to reform, saying that sexual abuse scandals had diminished the authority of the church, and warning that parishes would continue to shrink without change.
“There’s been the whole question of sexual abuse, which has brought a terrible stain on the life of the church,” he said.
He also said the Catholic Church was in a “critical position” in terms of a shortage of clergy, and called for married men to be allowed to be ordained.
“While we persist in this disciplinary world that Catholic priests in the Latin rite are not able to marry, there are just less and less young people coming into the priesthood,” Bishop Power said.
Bishop Power with his dog Clara in 2022. (Facebook: Archdiocese Canberra-Goulburn)
He said it was a message the Vatican did not want to hear.
“I think that’s sad, and I think a lot of times bishops are reluctant to speak as strongly as I have about it for fear that they’re being disloyal to Rome,” Bishop Power said.
“But I think that it’s important that we look at the life of the whole church.
“I think as local bishops, we’ve got a responsibility to enable the Pope and his advisers to see what the real state of affairs is on the ground.”
Bishop Power also pushed for the acceptance of same-sex relationships.
In a 2012 interview with the ABC, he said he’d made a public statement in 1998 “reaching out to people who are homosexual” to make it clear “that they should be welcome in the life of the church”.
“I think that the teaching that they hear all the time is, you know, in terms of being basically disordered and dysfunctional and so on,” he said.
“That’s very cruel language, and one of the things I think is important is that the church would reconsider not only its teaching on homosexuality, but on sexuality generally.”
Over the years, Bishop Power, pictured here with his sister and his niece, called for a number of reforms in the Catholic Church. (ABC News: Emily Anderson)
When Bishop Power retired, a farewell mass at St Christopher’s Cathedral in Manuka was standing room only, with hundreds in attendance.
Arrangements for Bishop Power’s funeral are yet to be announced, but it is expected his send off will once again bring in a large flock.
