An investigation by a retired Supreme Court judge has found the Catholic Church breached canon and civil law when it asked a bishop on Queensland's Darling Downs to retire.
The long-serving bishop of Toowoomba, William Morris, was asked to retire by the church in May after he made comments about the ordination of women and married priests.
Since then his supporters have been lobbying church leaders in Australia and the Vatican for an explanation of the circumstances leading to his removal.
More than 1,000 people signed a petition over his forced retirement.
The bishop's supporters hired Bill Carter QC to lead the investigation and he found the church committed a number of legal errors.
Mr Carter found the decision to remove Bishop Morris had been made before he was notified of an investigation and that he was advised of it through an unsigned letter.