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Australian Catholic Historical Society Inc. Program for 2023
Sydney Program
Location, time and contact: Sunday afternoons at 2.00pm (unless otherwise stated) in the Crypt of St Patrick’s at Church Hill [Grosvenor Street], The Rocks. Members and non-members are welcome to join us in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Attendance is free but a gold coin donation for afternoon tea is welcome.
Enquiries to: Dr John Carmody, President ACHS:
| DATE | TOPIC | SPEAKER |
|---|---|---|
| 19 February | The Church changes its mind – an Australian story (podcast) | Prof Dr Edmund Campion Emeritus Professor of History, Catholic Institute of Sydney |
| 19 March | My family and my mission to Papua New Guinea | Mary Mennis (née Eccles) Historian and author, Brisbane and PNG |
| 16 April | Catholic Action, Sydney style: Catholic lay organisations from friendly societies to the Vice Squad (text) (podcast) | Prof James Franklin ACHS Vice-President and Journal editor; Honorary Professor UNSW |
| 21 May | “Milk of Paradise”: Reflections on family, church and media, 1935-2023 (podcast) [AGM and elections at 13:15] | Patrick Kirkwood Formerly, Head of Religious Program (Radio and TV) and Director, Catholic Audio-Visual Centre, Homebush |
| 18 June | From taproot to rhizome: What you never knew about women religious’ lives, 1968-2008 (podcast) | Dr Sr Catherine Thom rsj Formerly academic (history and theology) in Australia, UK, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Lithuania |
| 16 July | Catholic “culture wars” (podcast) | Andrew West Presenter, Religion and Ethics Report, ABC Radio National, Formerly NSW State political editor, Sydney Morning Herald |
| 20 August | Resolving Catholicism’s dichotomies (podcast) | Dr Paul Collins Freelance religious affairs commentator Formerly Head, ABC Religious Broadcasts |
| 17 September | “Wise as serpents, innocent as doves”: navigating a broken world with a Catholic purpose (podcast) | Prof Francis Campbell Vice-Chancellor, University of Notre Dame Australia |
| 15 October | St John’s College: on the way to a history (podcast) | Dr Peter Cunich College historian, St John’s College (University of Sydney) |
| 19 November | A panorama of Australian religious poetry through reading it (podcast ; log of readings) | Dr Stephen McInerney Campion College, Sydney |
| 9 December | 11.45: Annual Mass and Christmas Lunch. Speaker: Diana Carmody | Dyer Centre, St Mary’s Ridge St, North Sydney. Mass, then light lunch |
Melbourne Program
Melbourne Meetings continue in 2023
Times and dates:
March 6: Br. Shane Wood CFC, speaking on Fr Kevin McKelson SAC and the drive for an Australian Indigenous Liturgy, the so-called ‘Pilbara Rite’
June 5: Helen Anderson SGS speaking on Anna Brennan (1879-1962), Catholic lay woman, lawyer and advocate for equal rights for women
September 4
November 13
Location: Yarra Theological Union Study Centre, Classroom 1. 29 Albion Street Box Hill. Time: 5pm. Contact: Matthew Beckmann, OFM. Email:
See also the program of the Brisbane Catholic Historical Society.
