Bunbury Bishop retires over stress

Trauma from constantly being told “the horrors” of sexual assaults has caused the Bishop of Bunbury to call it a day after 22 years in the job. Bishop Gerard Holohan said there were “many nights” he could not sleep and could not return to work the next day after hearing graphic details of sexual assaults. A change in 2019 to mandatory reporting laws in WA, added the clergy to the list of professions compelled to report claims of child sexual abuse, even if heard in confession. “I’m basically worn out,” Bishop Holohan said. An official statement from the Diocese said his resignation was because he was “unable to fulfil his responsibilities” and had “neither the health nor energy to continue”. “Many nights I lost sleep because of the horrors of what I heard and many days I could not return to work after a mediation.” Up until last Friday, when his resignation was accepted by Pope Francis, Bishop Holohan had been the longest serving senior Diocesan Bishop in Australia. He believed modern stresses on Diocesan Bishops was causing 30 per cent of priests worldwide to “knock back” the role, deciding they could not “cope’” with the pressures. Bishop Holohan agreed that while it’s important the church be talking about the issues, it was very hard to hear. “The bishop’s job is full time, this (hearing about sexual assaults) is a whole other dimension,” he said. “I don’t think anyone could sustain that forever, and emotionally it’s traumatic.” “The stress is the main reason why people don’t feel like they can take it on, there’s loads of good priests who could be bishops, except in these times the stress is too high.” “It requires faith and health, that’s not to say people who knock it back don’t have faith, but I think they’ve got to be realistic with what they can cope with.” Bishop Holohan said when he had submitted his resignation 10 months ago, prior to the Pope’s approval, he felt then he was no longer able to properly served the Diocese. “Last year, I experienced a health episode and that progressed, so, as when a bishop can’t continue, they’ve brought in an Apostolic Administrator to fulfill the role until a new Bishop is selected,” he said. Then 76-year-old will remain a priest in Bunbury during the transition and assist Archbishop Timothy Costelloe who been appointed Apostolic Administrator in the interim. Bishop Holohan said he believed over his 22 years in Bunbury people had become a lot “lonelier” and the “rationalist economy” has caused many to disregard their happiness and relationships with others. “Rationalist economics models are turning people into economic units,” he said. “People are working to survive. The whole economic structure is forcing people to make choices so they’re not person centred. “I find it heartbreaking, and I think the values of society are leading to unhappiness. “Some will say (it’s) about being progressive, but whether things are progressive depend upon the endpoint, and the endpoints of society is . . . it’s nowhere as happy as it was 22 years ago now.” However, despite the pressures he faced, Bishop Holohan said he was “extraordinarily proud” to hold the position and if younger would “do it all again.” “The main thing I associate the diocese (with) was just friendship and people. It’s been a privilege and I’m looking forward to still being connected,” he said. “For priests, your life’s about people, that’s thousands of stories. I’d do it all again if I was young enough.”