The Sydney Catholic auxiliary bishop, Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, has called for a 'radical' reform of Catholicism, telling a Fairfax publication that, "Papal power had gone too far and there are inadequate limits on that power."
He proposed a new parliament and a new hierarchical system for the local church since the bishops and faithful had been marginalised, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.
Expanding the debate further, Bishop Robinson told the Canberra Times news publication on Saturday that celibacy and the absence of the Pope's guidance on the issue of child-sex abuse had contributed to the failure of the Church to tackle it effectively.
"Compulsory celibacy for priests and religious had contributed to sexual abuse and must at least be on the table for discussion," he said.
"When a major matter arises, therefore, and there is a notable and extraordinary absence of guidance or direction from the Pope as was certainly the case in relation to the sexual abuse of minors it is inevitable that many will react according to older values … those older values have for a thousand years included secrecy, the covering over of problems and the protection of the good name of the Church."
Bishop Robinson was also a member of the Catholic Church's professional standards committee that was set up to deal with sexual abuse complaints and acknowledged that his new book, entitled Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church, will likely cause division within the Church.
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*Editor's note a new paragraph was introduced to outline Bishop Robinson proposal for the new Church structure.