Paul Bird (bishop)
{{Short description|Australian bishop}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| honorific-prefix = The Most Reverend
| name = Paul Bird
| honorific-suffix = C.Ss.R.
| title = 8th Roman Catholic Bishop of Ballarat
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| church = Roman Catholic
| archdiocese =
| province =
| metropolis =
| diocese = Ballarat
| see =
| appointed =1 August 2012
| term_start =
| term_end =
| retired =
| predecessor = Peter Connors
| successor =
| other_post =
| ordination = 17 May 1975
| ordained_by = John Toohey (Bishop of Maitland)
| consecration = 16 October 2012
| consecrated_by = Denis Hart (Archbishop of Melbourne)
| cardinal =
| created_cardinal_by =
| rank =
| birth_name = Paul Bernard Bird
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1949|07|17|df=y}}
| birth_place = Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
| death_date =
| death_place =
| buried =
| resting_place_coordinates =
| nationality =
| religion = Roman Catholicism
| residence =
| parents = Maurice and Olive Bird (née Burley)
| occupation =
| profession =
| education =
| alma_mater =
| motto = Peace be with you
}}
Paul Bird C.Ss.R. (born 17 July 1949) is the Roman Catholic Bishop of Ballarat.
Background
Bird was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, on 17 July 1949. He attended Catholic primary and high schools in the Newcastle area. He joined the formation program of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer in 1968 and studied at the Redemptorist seminary at Wendouree near Ballarat for four years before completing his studies at the Yarra Theological Union in Melbourne.{{cite web |url=https://www.ballarat.catholic.org.au/our-diocese/dsp-default.cfm?loadref=129 |title=BISHOP PAUL BIRD CSsR - Eighth Bishop of Ballarat |work=Our Diocese |publisher=Catholic Diocese of Ballarat |accessdate=7 July 2017}}
Bishop of Ballarat
Bird was ordained as a priest on 17 May 1975 and appointed Bishop of Ballarat on 1 August 2012.{{cite web |url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bbird.html |title=Bishop Paul Bernard Bird, C.SS.R. |publisher=Catholic-Hierarchy.org |accessdate=7 July 2017}}
In January 2016, Bird became the first bishop in Australia to publicly join a global movement showing support for clergy child sex abuse victims by tying bright coloured ribbons to the Loud Fence outside St Patrick's Cathedral, Ballarat. Bird said that "If there is just silence between two people, then one doesn’t know what the other is thinking" and that "This gesture is a way to recognise the suffering and publicly show support to victims, survivors and their families."{{cite web | url=https://www.ballarat.catholic.org.au/bishop-ties-ribbon-of-hope/f | title=Faith and War: Conserving the WWI Travelling Altar – Diocese of Ballarat }}
In 2016, Bird announced that the estate of a former Bishop of Ballarat, Ronald Mulkearns, which had been left to the diocese, would be set aside to help victims of child sexual abuse committed by priests in the diocese. As bishop, Mulkearns had facilitated moving the priests to different parishes.{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-06/assets-from-bishop-mulkearns-to-be-given-to-victims/7818984|title= Abuse victims to benefit from estate of former Ballarat Bishop Ronald Mulkearns|work=ABC|date=6 September 2016 |accessdate=7 July 2017}}
In August 2019, Bird acknowledged former Melbourne bishop George Pell's ties to the Ballarat diocese and also apologised for the history of sex abuse in the diocese.{{cite web | url=https://www.9news.com.au/national/george-pell-appeal-live-updates-supreme-court-of-victoria-verdict/a0e989c6-0b42-455d-8ea7-c6bb8bd9401f | title=George Pell loses appeal | date=21 August 2019 }}
See also
{{stack|{{Portal|Australia|Catholicism}}}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{succession box | title=8th Catholic Bishop of Ballarat|before=Peter Connors|after= incumbent | years=2012–present}}
{{s-end}}
{{Australian Catholic Archbishops and Bishops}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Paul}}
Category:Roman Catholic bishops of Ballarat
Category:People from Newcastle, New South Wales
{{Australia-RC-bishop-stub}}