mission and church SPEAKERS

Part of The Light from the Southern Cross - Catalyst for Conversation

RICHARD LENNAN

Richard Lennan, Professor of Systematic Theology, Boston College, USA, has been a priest of the diocese of Maitland-Newcastle since 1983. Richard has a degree in history from the University of Newcastle, a Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology from the Catholic Institute of Sydney, a Master of Philosophy degree from the University of Oxford and a doctorate in theology from the University of Innsbruck, Austria.

From 1992 to 2007, he taught Systematic Theology at the Catholic Institute of Sydney; from 2005–07 he was President of the Australian Catholic Theological Association. Richard taught at Weston Jesuit School of Theology (2007–08), before becoming part of the Boston College Theology and Ministry in 2008.

He has just begun a term as chair of the School of Theology and Ministry’s Ecclesiastical Faculty and he serves on the editorial board of Theological Studies. Richard's new book, Tilling the Church: Theology for an Unfinished Project (Liturgical Press) will be published in 2022, as will a book for which he is a co-editor, A Possible Priesthood: Horizons of Hope (Orbis Press).

Richard was one of the co-authors of The Light from the Southern Cross (2020).

Melissa Dwyer

Melissa Dwyer FDCC made her Religious Profession as a Canossian Daughter of Charity Servant of the Poor in 2005. Prior to entering religious life, she had a dream of representing Australia as an Olympic javelin thrower and competed at an elite level.

A volunteer mission experience in Africa helped Mel to discover that God’s dream for her was to leave the sporting arena and serve Him radically as a consecrated woman.

Having finished her degree in Secondary Physical Education, Sr Mel was sent to Malawi, Africa where she completed 7 years as Principal of a Girls Secondary School.

She returned to Brisbane in 2016 to serve as part of the leadership team for the Canossian Sisters in Australia, before being appointed Leader in May 2019.

In addition to this leadership role within her congregation, Mel serves as the State Spiritual Advisor for the St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland, Spiritual Advisor for Ozcare Queensland, and works at the Vocations Office in the Archdiocese of Brisbane.

Mel is an appointed member of the Plenary Council, as Leader of the Canossian Sisters.

John Warhurst

John Warhurst AO is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the Australian National University in Canberra, where he was Professor of Political Science from 1993-2008. His expertise lies in Australian politics and government, advocacy and lobbying, and religion and politics, and he is a former president of the Australasian Political Science Association. He was formerly chair of the Australian Republican Movement and is currently president of Christians for an Ethical Society. He has been a regular columnist for Eureka Street and The Canberra Times.

John was one of the co-authors of The Light from the Southern Cross (2020) and is the author of Wrestling with the Church Hierarchy: Engaging with the Plenary Council and Beyond (2021). He has served on many national church boards and advisory councils, most recently for Marist 180 and Caritas Australia, and was deputy chair of Catholic Social Services Australia.

He has also served as the foundation chair of the church reform group, Concerned Catholics Canberra Goulburn, since 2017 and is an appointed member of the Plenary Council for the Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn.