Hard lesson for the Vatican: Firing a bishop doesn't end the story

Hard lesson for the Vatican: Firing a bishop doesn't end the story

NCR

By John L Allen Jr

John L Allen Jr

Rome -- In the space of a year, between May 2011 and May 2012, Pope Benedict XVI effectively fired two bishops in two very different parts of the world, and for very different reasons: William Morris of Toowoomba, Australia, for alleged doctrinal deviations, and Francesco Micciché of Trapani, Italy, amid reports of financial malfeasance. Despite the contrasts, the two cases seem to have at least one common term: If anyone thought that simply removing the bishop would bring the story to an end, they obviously need to think again.