One of the world¡¯s larger Catholic universities faces an identity crisis amid an apparent power struggle among the archbishops at the helm of its corporation.

The Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, has resigned as chair of the Australian Catholic University (ACU) Committee of Identity, saying the institution¡¯s treatment of former union leader and conservative Catholic Joe de Bruyn constituted ¡°cancel culture at its ugliest¡±.

Mr de Bruyn was subjected to what Archbishop Fisher believes was an orchestrated walkout of students and staff during his October speech accepting an honorary doctorate at an ACU graduation ceremony.

Mr de Bruyn had outlined his??to abortion, in vitro fertilisation, same-sex marriage and Catholics who ¡°cave in to peer pressure¡±. Archbishop Fisher believes students started leaving as soon as Mr de Bruyn took the podium, and counsellors had been enlisted in advance to deal with students¡¯ distress.

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Vice-chancellor Zlatko Skrbis??expressed his ¡°regret¡± about the ¡°hurt and discomfort¡± caused by the speech, promising therapy for staff and automatic refunds of the A$165 (?82) graduation ceremony fees for students.

¡°Does anyone seriously believe that mention of Catholic views on life and marriage issues will trigger ¡®work health and safety concerns¡¯?¡± Archbishop Fisher asked, in a letter to ACU pro-chancellor Virginia Bourke.

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Archbishop Fisher¡¯s resignation reflects a split in the top echelons of Australia¡¯s Catholic hierarchy, which??pits him and Melbourne archbishop Peter Comensoli against Brisbane archbishop Mark Coleridge.

Archbishop Coleridge is president of the ACU Corporation, the university¡¯s legal entity, of which Archbishop Fisher and Archbishop Comensoli are ex-officio members. The corporation appoints the chancellor and pro-chancellor and elects other members of the senate, the university¡¯s governing authority, which appoints the vice-chancellor.

The senate reappointed Professor Skrbis for a second five-year term on 5 December, more than a year before his initial term is due to expire. His ¡°continued leadership will ensure stability¡±, Archbishop Coleridge and chancellor Martin Daubney said in a?.

The following day, Archbishop Coleridge asked the corporation members to make a ¡°public statement of support¡± for the vice-chancellor, chancellor and pro-chancellor. His proposed text described Professor Skrbis¡¯ reappointment as ¡°a vote of confidence in the wake of relentless public attacks to which he has been unfairly subjected¡±.

No such statement eventuated, even though a majority of the corporation¡¯s members supported the idea, according to Archbishop Coleridge. ¡°I decided after further consultation with the chancellor, vice-chancellor and pro-chancellor to hold off on a statement and instead to convene a meeting of members sometime early in the new year,¡± he told?Times ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø.

Meanwhile, seven prominent lawyers have blasted ACU¡¯s leadership in an open letter calling for an independent investigation of the university¡¯s senior executive or rescindment of its Catholic title. ¡°If ACU has not already lost its Catholic identity, it is on the verge of doing so,¡± the letter warns.

The lawyers¡¯ concerns, reflected in a five-page ¡°canonical advice¡± attached to the letter, mainly concerned Kate Galloway¡¯s brief tenure as ACU law dean. The university paid A$1.1 million to terminate Professor Galloway¡¯s position and reappoint her as a ¡°strategic professor of law and social justice¡± ¨C a?role that went unacknowledged in her subsequently deleted LinkedIn profile ¨C following complaints about publications in which she had expressed support for women¡¯s access to abortion.

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The canonical advice criticises ACU management for appointing Professor Galloway in the first place, and for her subsequent reassignment. ¡°It is totally unacceptable to use public money, or money that belongs to the patrimony of the church, to resolve a serious mistake [in] the appointment of the dean,¡± it says.

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Asked whether it accepted the criticism, ACU said: ¡°We cannot publicly comment on the employment arrangements of any staff member at any time.¡± And a spokeswoman rejected the letter¡¯s characterisation of the university¡¯s ¡°culture of obfuscation and lying¡± as ¡°a completely hollow and baseless statement penned by an unnamed party¡±.

¡°The so-called canonical advice¡­is neither dated nor attributed to any lawyer. It is a most unusual practice for lawyers to provide legal advice without attribution or date. A reasonable conclusion is that this attachment lacks credibility.¡±

THE?asked three of the letter¡¯s authors ¨C former New South Wales (NSW) attorney general Greg Smith, shadow NSW treasurer Damien Tudehope and former crown prosecutor Margaret Cunneen ¨C who had written the canonical advice. No response was forthcoming.

Another letter co-signatory, Sophie York,??that the advice had been ¡°prepared by a canon lawyer¡± but provided no name.

Professor Skrbis¡¯ reappointment occurred amid a wave of resignations, terminations and contract non-renewals which, by early 2025, will have claimed the entire second tier of executives and other leaders. Recent or imminent departees include three deputy vice-chancellors, the chief operating officer, the vice-president and director of identity and mission, the head of human resources and the director of government policy and strategy.

Critics say leaders have been purged, with some summarily terminated or discarded when their contracts expired, and others made so uncomfortable that they left. ACU says ¡°almost all¡± senior staff departures over the past two years have been?as a result of retirement, external promotion or contract expiry. ¡°This is all part of the rejuvenating cycle of an organisation¡¯s leadership team,¡± its spokeswoman said.

ACU¡¯s looming challenges include its re-registration as a university, due in July, which could include meeting new research quality benchmarks ¨C a task potentially made tougher by its scrapping of programmes in its areas of research strength, including the ?public policy thinktank.

The regulator, Teqsa, would not say whether it had started assessing ACU¡¯s re-registration. Asked whether resolving a recruitment ¡°mistake¡± was an acceptable use of public money, a spokeswoman said Teqsa was ¡°aware of the open letter and will not be commenting¡±.

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Critics say ACU can expect to be the subject of another canonical opinion, this time from Rome. And the leadership faces the potential loss of a key ally in the shape of 76-year-old Archbishop Coleridge. Catholic bishops are expected to submit their resignations at age 75, although their resignations are not necessarily accepted.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com