Jeremiah Coffey

Jeremiah Joseph Coffey (1 January 1933 – 19 November 2014) was the seventh Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Sale, Australia,[1] serving from 1989 until his retirement in 2008. On retirement, he was styled Bishop Emeritus of Sale.

The Most Reverend Jeremiah Coffey
7th Roman Catholic Bishop
Diocese	Sale
Installed	8 April 1998
Term ended	2 January 2008
Predecessor	Eric D'Arcy
Successor	Christopher Prowse
Orders
Ordination	22 June 1958 (Priest) in All Hallows College, Ireland
Consecration	30 June 1989 (Bishop) in Sale
Personal details
Birth name	Jeremiah Joseph Coffey
Born	1 January 1933 Cork, County Cork, Ireland
Died	19 November 2014
Nationality	Irish/Australian
Denomination	Roman Catholic Church
Occupation	Roman Catholic bishop
Profession	Cleric
Alma mater	University College Dublin; All Hallows College
Motto	In Joyful Hope

Early years

Coffey was born in Cork, County Cork, Ireland. He was educated at Model School, Cork, before attending St Nessan's Christian Brothers' School. He was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree from University College Dublin and then studied for the priesthood at All Hallows College, choosing to travel to Australia as a missionary and serve in the Diocese of Sale. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Sale at All Hallows College on 22 June 1958, by Archbishop James Skinner CIM of St John's, Newfoundland, Canada and arrived in Sale three months later; he served in the parishes of Bairnsdale, Sale, Traralgon, Omeo, Iona and Yallourn prior to being appointed the first parish priest of Churchill. In 1987, Coffey was appointed Rector of Corpus Christi Seminary, Clayton.[2]

Bishopric

On 8 April 1989, Pope John Paul II appointed Coffey as the seventh Bishop of Sale. He was consecrated by Archbishop Sir Frank Little of Melbourne on the grounds of St Patrick's Campus of Sale Catholic College (now Catholic College Sale) on 30 June 1989. The co-consecrators were his predecessor, Archbishop Eric D'Arcy of Hobart together with Bishop David Cremin, who was also a student of All Hallows.[2]

In 2003, Coffey removed Father John Speekman as priest of the parish of Morwell over allegations of bullying. In a long running dispute, Fr Speekman twice successfully appealed to the Congregation for the Clergy against the decree ordering his removal,[3][4] but Coffey then appealed those decisions to the Apostolic Signatura.[5][6] In 2011, the Vatican ruled finally in favour of Coffey,[7] ending the eight-year battle where the parish was without a permanent priest.[8]

Under Coffey's leadership of the diocese, the Bishop's Family Foundation was established as a charitable body and has given more than A$500,000 in support of families within the Gippsland diocese. At the time of Coffey's departure, the foundation had a self-generating trust fund of more than A$2 million.[9]

Coffey's retirement as bishop was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI on 2 January 2008.[10] Coffey lived in retirement in Paynesville. He was conferred the title Bishop Emeritus of Sale.[2]

He died on 19 November 2014.

References

1. "Bishop Emeritus Jeremiah Joseph Coffey". The Catholic Hierarchy. 19 February 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
2. "Bishop Jeremiah Joseph Coffey". About us: History. Catholic Diocese of Sale. 2012. Archived from the original on 29 January 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
3. Gilchrist, Michael (February 2007). "Vatican orders reinstatement of wrongly removed Sale Diocese parish priest". AD2000. Thomas More Centre. 20 (1): 7. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
4. "Congregation for Clergy decree on Sale priest published". CathNews. 9 January 2007. Archived from the original on 6 July 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
5. Zwartz, Barney (12 January 2007). "Vatican orders bishop to reinstate removed priest". The Age. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
6. "Sale Bishop appeals to Vatican "supreme court"". CathNews. 12 January 2007. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
7. "Vatican judges in favour of bishop in Vic dispute". CathNews. 28 July 2011. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
8. "Vic parish to get priest after eight years". CathNews. 1 August 2011. Archived from the original on 6 July 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
9. Jackson, Nicole (29 October 2007). "Sale Diocese to get new leader". La Trobe Valley Express. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
10. "Resignation of His Lordship Most Reverend Jeremiah Coffey, Bishop of Sale" (PDF; requires download) (Press release). Apostolic Nunciature in Australia. 20 December 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2012.

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Sale website