Background
Hickey, Barry James was born on April 16, 1936 in Leonora, Australia. Son of Gregory Maurice and Freda (Kruse) Hickey.
archbishop bishop theologian Catholic priest
Hickey, Barry James was born on April 16, 1936 in Leonora, Australia. Son of Gregory Maurice and Freda (Kruse) Hickey.
License Sacred Theology, Urbaniana University, Rome, 1959. Bachelor, University West Australia, Perth, Australia, 1971. Master of Social Work, University West Australia, Perth, Australia, 1973.
Doctor of Divinity (honorary), 1984.
He is conferred with the title of Emeritus He was parish priest of Sacred Heart Parish, Highgate, at the time of his consecration as Bishop of Geraldton in 1984. Hickey was installed as on 27 August 1991. In 1994 he addressed the National Press Club, talking about the release of the new Catholic Catechism.
Public stances Hickey has challenged secularisation tendencies in the community.
As an example, in 2010 he publicly questioned the lack of religious orientation of Julia Gillard, not long after her appointment as Prime Minister of Australia. = Stem cell research Hickey reportedly said that he did not consider that he had made a threat.
He also later said that he would not refuse communion. Catholics who vote for the cloning of embryos destined for destruction are acting against the teaching of the Church on a very serious matter and they should, in conscience, not vote that way, but if they do in conscience they should not go to communion.
– Archbishop Hickey. After a holiday in Jerusalem in the mid-2000s Hickey authored a book, Living Biblically, that encouraged a return to the use and reading of the bible.
On 5 June 2007 Hickey made a controversial statement by saying that if the Western Australian members of parliament who identified as Catholic did not oppose the The Human Reproductive Technology Amendment Bill, which would allow expansion of stem cell research, then they could be refused holy communion or face excommunication as a last resort. Catholic and non-Catholic members of parliament criticised Hickey for this stance. The Commonwealth government appointed him to the Board of the Institute of Family Studies and as a Member of the Australian Citizenship Council.