Sydney
9 September 2001

‘Everything will be all right – trust me’: Bishop Toohey’s message for his flock

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Writing where grown-ups fear to tread

9 Sep 01

‘Everything will be all right – trust me’: Bishop Toohey’s message for his flock







By Johanna Bennett



It’s a far cry from Sydney. You can buy a house for $58,000, transport runs more to hard-used utes than BMWs and at this time of year bucolic green fields are enough to make you weep. It’s the rural NSW diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes and Sydney’s Fr Chris Toohey has just become its new bishop.

It’s a world away from the Sydney waterfront where Fr Chris, as he is known, now Bishop Chris Toohey, started his working life.

But the Balmain boy – he was born and bred in the inner city suburb – is “peaceful” about his new rural calling.

The popular Sydney priest was ordained as the Bishop of Wilcannia-Forbes at Holy Family parish church, Parkes, on Thursday, August 30.

He took as his emblem and personal ministry the fish of St Peter’s catch. A simple fish design was emblazoned on his new chasuble and his chosen gospel reading illustrated his ministry’s theme.

It was Luke’s story of Simon Peter fishing at the Lake of Gennesaret who, after Jesus told him to put out his nets again – after catching nothing all day – brought in a huge, boat-sinking catch, upon which Jesus told the awe-struck Peter, James and John, that from now on they were to be fishers of men.

Such is the new bishop’s intention, too. And to underscore it, he chose as one of his recessional hymns the haunting Galilee Song, which has this refrain:

So I leave my boats behind
Leave them on familiar shores
Set my heart upon the deep
Follow you again, my Lord


A ticket-only crowd of nearly 800 packed Holy Family parish church to capacity for the occasion. The new bishop’s parishioners shared pews with 24 bishops, numerous priests (many from Sydney) and members of the Toohey family – he is one of seven children.

Sydney’s Archbishop George Pell, assisted by the Emeritus Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal Clancy, and Emeritus Bishop of Wilcannia-Forbes, Bishop Douglas Warren, ordained Christopher Toohey as bishop in the presence of 21 other Australian Catholic bishops.

Fr Kevin Murphy presented the Papal Bull appointing the new bishop, in which Pope John Paul II conferred his apostolic blessing on the bishop-elect and spoke of happy memories of his pre-decessor, Bishop Barry Collins, who died in November.

Archbishop Pell said not all those who were chosen to be a bishop welcomed the role. One young bishop tried to get out it by saying, “he was only a boy”, said the archbishop.

Fr Chris Toohey “did not run that line past me”, although (at 49) he is still quite young to be a bishop by Church standards.

In his consecration speech, Bishop Chris – as he will no doubt be known, given his cheerful, down-to-earth nature – said, commenting on his new ministry: “Everything will be all right. Trust me.”