Long before Bishop Emeritus Max Davis led Australia’s Military Ordinariate, he was a teenager serving in the Navy and beginning to sense a call from God. Source: Catholic Voice.
That call would eventually see him lead the Catholic ministry to Australian Defence Force personnel for 18 years, from his installation as bishop in 2003 until his retirement in 2021.
“I had the blessing of the example of a couple of priests who were serving and that was inspirational,” Bishop Davis said.
For Bishop Davis, the late Bishop John Morgan, former Military Vicar of the ADF and Auxiliary Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn, inspired him to embark on the mission and challenge of bringing Jesus into army camps.
Through this came decades of service to ADF members as a chaplain and eventually as Military Bishop.
“The Military Bishop is primarily concerned with the care of the members of the Defence Force and their families, those employed by Defence etc, wherever they may be,” Bishop Davis said.
Being the Military Bishop requires travel to a vast collection of places located throughout Australia such as bases, training areas, hospitals, houses, even ships.
A distinct difference between the Military Ordinariate and territorial dioceses is access to community support.
“One of the main differences is physical dispersement of the community and the consequent frequent mobility of members and their families,” Bishop Davis said.
“This means that members of the Defence community can experience difficulty in accessing ‘normal’ community engagements – local parish activities, schools, sacramental programmes, etc.”
The appointment of Bishop Stuart Hall to the Military Ordinariate brings Bishop Davis “great joy and hope”.
“Bishop Hall’s appointment restores the focus and the concentrated effort to serve this particular Church,” Bishop Davis said.
“He brings a huge experience in both the Defence and non-Defence environments and has displayed wonderful gifts of discernment and awareness as well as a reputation of respect and needs assessment.
“He has all my support and prayers.”
FULL STORY
A bishop without borders: Max Davis reflects on 18 years of service (By Callum Hussein, Catholic Voice)
