• Breadcrumb navigation uses Javascript

The Catholic church is a force for good in the world

For more than two millennia, the Catholic Church has been the author and repository of some of the highest ideals of humanity.

Yet, as humanity is flawed, so is the Church. Few would deny that the Catholic Church has dark chapters in its history.

However, do these darker moments unfairly obscure the light – perhaps because so much is expected of an institution that claims to bridge the sacred and secular? Or is the Catholic Church simply the most ancient of wolves in sheep’s clothing?

Speakers

For

• Senator Helen Coonan was a Liberal member of the Australian Senate from July 1996 until August 2011 and held positions including the Shadow Minister for Human Services and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.
• Julian McMahon is a barrister and member of the Melbourne Catholic Lawyers Association. He has acted in numerous and complex matters including police corruption, terrorism and death penalty cases.
• Sister Libby Rogerson IBVM is a Loreto sister currently working with Mary Ward International Australia, the Loreto Sisters’ aid, development and volunteer organisation.

Against

• Father Peter Kennedy is a former Catholic priest who was forced to stand down from his position as parish priest in the South Brisbane diocese of St Mary’s in 2009. He has since gone on to form a breakaway congregation in the same area called St Mary's-in-Exile.
• Anne Summers AO is a best-selling author, journalist and thought leader with a long career in politics, the media, business and the non-government sector in Australia, Europe and the United States.
• David Marr is the multi-award-winning author of Patrick White: a Life and The High Price of Heaven, and co-author with Marian Wilkinson of Dark Victory. As a journalist, he has reported for outlets including ABC TV and The Sydney Morning Herald. He was also the editor of the National Times.

Chair:

Dr Simon Longstaff has a PhD in Philosophy from Cambridge. Prior to becoming the inaugural Executive Director of St James Ethics Centre in 1991, Dr Longstaff worked in the Northern Territory in the Safety Department of BHP subsidiary, GEMCO, lectured at Cambridge University and consulted to the Cambridge Commonwealth and Overseas Trusts. His book Hard Cases, Tough Choices was published in 1997. Dr Longstaff was inaugural President of the Australian Association for Professional & Applied Ethics and is a Fellow of the World Economic Forum. He is Chairman of Woolworths Limited Corporate Responsibility Panel and AMP Capital Socially Responsible Investment Advisory Committee and serves as Member on a number of Board Committees.