VATICAN II: KEEPING THE WINDOWS OPEN Webinar Series

Dr Chris  Monaghan CP
Chris is a Passionist who studied at YTU and then at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and Jerusalem. Since 1987 he has been lecturing at YTU in both Old and New Testament. The major focus of his teaching throughout these years has been Matthew, Luke-Acts and the letters of Paul.

Dr Greg Brett CM
Greg is a senior lecturer in Systematic Theology. He works in the areas of Faith and Revelation, Christology, Theological Anthropology, Grace and Eschatology. He has also lectured extensively in Ecclesiology and Sacraments. He is a past member of the National Catholic-Lutheran Dialogue and the National Catholic-Anglican Dialogue.
In late 2015, he was called to Sydney to take over the office of the Provincial. In 2016, he was appointed the Provincial of the Vincentians for the Province of Oceania for a term of six years. His current research is the Theology and Spirituality of Vincent De Paul, the founder of the Vincentians.

Dr Kevin Lenehan
Kevin is recognised in Australia and internationally as a leading scholar and presenter on topics emerging from the interaction of Christian theology and its contemporary contexts. Kevin’s teaching units include Introducing Catholic Theology, Theology of the Human Person, Introduction to Philosophy for Theology, Theology of the Eucharist, Enhancing Catholic Institutional Identity, and Doing Theology: Engaging the Catholic Theological Tradition. Kevin regularly contributes to theological education and faith formation with Catholic dioceses and agencies throughout Australia. He was a member of a Discernment and Writing Group and was a Delegate at the Fifth Plenary Council of the Catholic Church in Australia.

Dr Claire Renkin
Claire has been teaching art history and spirituality at YTU since 2001. Her teaching areas include the art and architecture of the Early Christians and Byzantium, and the art and spirituality of the late Middle Ages. In addition to teaching at YTU, Claire lectures regularly throughout Australia on the intersection of visual art, theology and spirituality. Her research and publications focus on the role of gender and devotion in depictions of female sanctity in European art from the late Middle Ages to the early modern period, c. 1350-1650.

Sr Jill O’Brien SGS
Jill is Good Samaritan Sister and is a graduate of the Liturgical Design Consultants Program at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago. She has been involved with parishes and communities as they set about the task of building or renovating their worship spaces. Jill has lived in Broome since 2003 and seven of those years were spent as Campus Minister at the Broome Campus of the University of Notre Dame. At the request of the Bishop of Broome, Christopher Saunders, Jill is now engaged in guiding the processes related to the construction of a new cathedral for the Diocese of Broome.

Rev Brian Nichols
Brian is a lecturer at Catholic Theological College and is a member of the Department of Systematic Theology. He lectures in liturgical theology and the sacrament of orders. He is Parish Priest of Sandy Bay/Taroona parish in Hobart. Brian holds a Bachelor of Theology from the University of Divinity, and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from St Anselmo (Rome).

Fiona Dyball
Fiona writes a regular column on music for Australian Catholics. She is a musician, educator and liturgist based in Melbourne and is currently undertaking a PhD in music and theology. Fiona works across parish, school, tertiary and community settings and is a member of the National Executive of the Australian Pastoral Musician’s Network. Her work on prayer, liturgy and liturgical music is published in books, journals and magazines, and her music published by Liturgical Song.

Dr Mary Reaburn NDS
Mary teaches Wisdom Literature and Psalms. She is a Sister of Our Lady of Sion and has a deep respect for the literature we call the Old Testament or First Testament and for Jewish and Christian interpretation of these texts. She has also taught at Holy Trinity Theological College in Harare, Zimbabwe. Mary is member of the Council of the Australian Bishops’ Conference for Christian Unity and Inter-religious Dialogue and on the Ecumenical and Interfaith Commission of the Melbourne Archdiocese. She is particularly involved in Jewish-Christian and Jewish-Catholic relations.

Rev Denis Stanley EV
Denis has been the Episcopal Vicar for Ecumenism and Interfaith Relations in the Archdiocese of Melbourne since 2010 and was Chair of the Ecumenism and Interfaith Commission from 2010 to 2016. He has been active in Archdiocesan and National Ecumenical initiatives, especially as a member of the executive at the National Council of Churches of Australia. Denis has a particular interest in ecumenical dialogue and is a member of the Australian Anglican-Roman Catholic Theological Dialogue. He has also been the facilitator for the ’trialogue’ between the Lutheran, Uniting and Anglican churches. Fr Denis is also Rector of the Provincial Seminary, Corpus Christi College.

Dr Patrick McInerney Denis Stanley EV
Fr Patrick is a Columban missionary priest. He was assigned to Pakistan for over twenty years. He graduated from the Pontifical Institute for the Study of Arabic and Islamics in Rome (1986), the Melbourne College of Divinity (2003) and the Australian Catholic University (2009). Fr Patrick is the Director of the Columban Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations. He is a member of various interfaith and academic organisations, participates in interfaith and multi-faith conferences, and gives talks on Islam, Christian-Muslim Relations and Interreligious Relations to a wide variety of audiences.

Dr Sandie Cornish
Sandie is a Senior Lecturer at the Australian Catholic University (ACU), specialising in Catholic Social Teaching. She is a member of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development. Sandie has been Director of the Office for Justice, Ecology and Peace of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Director of Quality and Community Engagement for the Sydney College of Divinity, Province Director of Mission of the Society of the Sacred Heart in Australia and New Zealand, and has worked with the Good Shepherd Sisters in research and social policy. As the Social Justice Education Coordinator for the Diocese of Broken Bay, she had responsibility for the coordination of adult faith programs in social justice.

Dr Bruce Duncan CSsR
Bruce was ordained for the Redemptorist Congregation in 1971. To specialise in the areas of social justice, he studied economics and political science at the University of Sydney. During this time he was one of the founding editors of the ecumenical monthly magazine, National Outlook. Since 1986 he has taught at Yarra Theological Union. He was a member of the Melbourne Catholic Commission for Justice, Development and Peace (1994-2007), and a consultant with Catholic Social Services Victoria (1998-2007). He is one of the founders of the advocacy organisation, Social Policy Connections, and previous Director of the Yarra Institute for Religion and Social Policy, which has been subsumed into the Centre for Research on Religion and Social Policy (RASP) within the University of Divinity.

Adjunct Professor Susan Pascoe AM
Susan is Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Australia. She chairs the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), the Community Directors Council, and Catholic Emergency Relief Australia (CERA). She was a Member of the Vatican’s Commission for Methodology planning the Synod on Synodality, a Trustee of St John of God Health, and a Board Member of Mercy Health. She was a member of the Governance Review Project Team established by the Australian Catholic Bishop’s Conference (ACBC) and Catholic Religious Australia (CRA) which produced the 2020 Report, The Light from the Southern Cross: Promoting Co-responsible Governance in the Catholic Church in Australia.