Research reveals history of Archdiocese.
By Anthony Barich
A Perth historical researcher’s project into the life of Bishop Martin Griver has shed new light on some controversial incidents that shaped the Archdiocese of Perth.
They include the prelate’s frustration at having to pay Bishop John Brady’s 100 Pound-a-year retirement pension as he was retired in Ireland while Bishop Griver was struggling to build the cathedral.
The confrontation between Bishop Joseph Benedict Serra OSB and the Sisters of Mercy is also mentioned, as the Order’s Australian foundress Ursula Frayne wanted funds to build new schools while the Spanish prelate was low on cash funding the construction of the Monastery in Subiaco, WA, the Cathedral Palace and regional churches. The letters also detail the Benedictines’ decision in 1859 to move north and base themselves at the monastic town of New Norcia under Bishop Rosendo Salvado rather than stay in Perth at the Subiaco Monastery under Bishop Serra.
All these were revealed by Odhran O’Brien, 24, who was commissioned by the Archdiocesan Historical Commission in August 2007 with a scholarship to write a biography of Bishop Griver, the second bishop of Perth between 1873-1886. The project is expected to be completed by April 2010.
With a $4500 WA History Foundation grant, he recently commissioned University of WA Latin expert Nathan Leber to translate “The Oceania File” – letters Bishop Griver sent to the Vatican as part of his five-yearly diocesan update; letters from Ursula Frayne and Bishop Rosendo Salvado, among others.
Mr O’Brien obtained the file from the Australian National Library following the grant approval.
Mr Leber, 38, Associate Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History, said that it was clear from his letters that Bishop Griver was a Latin scholar, having tutored in the subject. “Ecclesial Latin” – easier to understand – was the commoner’s language, but Griver used a higher form of the ancient language of the Church, Mr Leber said.
Mr O’Brien suspects that Bishop Serra’s difficulties with Ursula Frayne may have stemmed from his European experience of cloistered nuns, unlike the Sisters of Mercy who were active in the community. When Griver spoke of “the Brady issue” – a highly controversial episode in the history of the Church in Perth when Catholics split between allegiances to Bishop Brady and Bishop Serra – he was still only an Administrator of the diocese. Referring to himself, he used the Latin word “Privitas” – a negative term in classical Latin which implies “private citizen”, as he was still only Administrator of the diocese at the time. All the Church’s property was handed over to Serra, though Brady never resigned as bishop.
Mr Leber said that Bishop Griver’s letters revealed the scope and difficulties of administering the diocese of Perth, as he vividly described the vast spaces between parishes and the personalities involved.