If Australasian Catholicism Becomes Synodal?

John Warhurst AO
John is an Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the Australian National University in Canberra. He has been chair of the Australian Republican Movement (2002–2005), campaigning for an Australian Head of State for Australia, and Deputy Chair of Catholic Social Services Australia (2007–2012), the church’s peak body for social services. In 2009, he was made an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for services to political science and the community. Born and educated in Adelaide, he is a graduate of Flinders University.

Fr Richard Lennan
Richard is a priest of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle and was ordained in 1983. After graduate studies at the University of Oxford and the University of Innsbruck (Austria), where he wrote his dissertation on Karl Rahner’s ecclesiology, he taught from 1992-2007 at the Catholic Institute of Sydney. He is currently Professor of Systematic Theology in the School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College. Richard’s research and teaching focus on ecclesiology, ministry, and the theology of Karl Rahner. He has authored or edited nine books. He is an editorial consultant for Theological Studies and served as a theological advisor to the preparation of Light from the Southern Cross (2019), a document on reforming governance in the Catholic Church in Australia. Most recently, Richard was a member of the theological panel for the Plenary Council of Australia (2021-22).

Anne Benjamin
Anne is a Sydney-based writer, consultant, and educator with roots in the Hunter Valley of NSW and strong links with South India. She has authored or co-authored over 40 significant reviews in Australia and internationally –these were mostly senior performance reviews or organisational reviews. For 16 years, she held senior administrative roles within education in Western Sydney, including university governance, involvement in NSW Government education boards and committees. She was Executive Director of 75 schools in the Catholic Diocese of Parramatta in Western Sydney for nine years. Anne is an Honorary Professor at Australian Catholic University, an Honorary Fellow University of Western Sydney, a Fellow of the Australian College of Educators and a Fellow of the Australian Council of Educational Leaders. Anne co-authored, with Charles Burford, Leadership in a Synodal Church.

Trish Hindmarsh
Trish has a long and distinguished background in Catholic Education across four states, including as the Director of the Catholic Education Office in Hobart. Her doctoral studies relate to education for ecological sustainability. Her Master of Theology included Feminist Theology and Women’s Studies. Trish is a well-renowned facilitator, speaker, writer, and activist in Church renewal and environmental responsibility, and is also actively committed to Vinnies, WATAC, and ACCCR. She was a member of the Plenary Council Writing Group addressing the theme Conversion, Renewal and Reform.