ALBURY Anglican priest Father Peter MacLeod-Miller is no longer wearing his clerical collar following the conviction of Catholic cardinal George Pell for child abuse.
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"People treat me much better if I'm wearing a normal shirt, rather than something associated with community harm," Father MacLeod-Miller said.
He said despite Pell being in another denomination, people did not differentiate between religious groups and Anglican clergy had been party to child abuse.
Father MacLeod-Miller's comments came as his diocese leader, the Bishop of Wangaratta John Parkes, on Wednesday officially announced he would be retiring at the end of the year.
Bishop Parkes is the 10th man to lead the Wangaratta diocese and is the longest-serving prelate to occupy the role since 1965.
It is compulsory to retire at the age of 70, but Bishop Parkes will not celebrate that milestone until August 2020.
He has decided to leave at 69 because the next Lambeth Conference, a once-a-decade meeting of Anglican bishops is in July-August next year and he thought it sensible for his successor to attend instead of him.
Bishop Parkes flagged the possibility of a woman heading the Wangaratta diocese for the first time.
"We have now a number of women in senior ministries, the Archbishop of Perth and the Bishop of Grafton, and we've got a number of senior assistant bishops," he said.
"I hope the person is right for the diocese and if it's a woman it would be a good thing."
Father MacLeod-Miller believes the new bishop will have a hard job, "whether it is a boy or a girl".
"I think he goes at a very challenging time, the community reputation for the church is at its most challenging and the whole model has probably died," he said.
"You would have to be a brave person to put on that hat."
Father MacLeod-Miller will not vie, saying he does not believe in the top-down governance structure.
Bishop Parkes will retire on December 24, but his final service at Wangaratta's cathedral will be three days earlier on St Thomas' Day where he will ceremonially lay down his staff on the altar to mark his seat becoming vacant.
A replacement is likely to be ordained by Easter 2020.
The diocese will be managed by Archdeacon Clarence Bester between bishops and from September while Bishop Parkes is on leave before his last mass.
