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The Council is an advisory body to the Bishops Commission for Church Ministry and consists of thirteen persons: two bishops, five priest directors, three lay persons, two religious (one a priest) and a deacon.

Nominations to membership of the Council are by peers and all appointments are by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference for a period of three years. All members of the Council are appointed for their expertise (not as representatives) though each reflects a particular background.

Bishops representing the Commission for Church Ministry of the ACBC

  • Bishop Brian Heenan (Diocese of Rockhampton, Queensland)
  • Bishop Justin Bianchini (Diocese of Geraldton, Western Australia)

Priests nominated by Directors of each of the five Provinces of the Australian Catholic Church:

  • Fr Martin Ashe (Archdiocese of Melbourne) VIC/TAS
  • Fr Dave O'Connor (Archdiocese of Brisbane) QLD
  • Fr Brian Moloney (Diocese of Broken Bay) NSW/ACT/Military
  • Fr Peter Bianchini, Chairman (Archdiocese of Perth) WA
  • Mgr Ian Dempsey (Archdiocese of Adelaide) SA/NT

Deacon nominated by the Council and/or Directors

  • Rev Anthony Aspinall (Diocese of Sale)

Lay Members nominated by the Council and/or Directors

  • Mrs Carmel Crawford (Archdiocese of Melbourne)
  • Mrs Cheryle Davies (Archdiocse of Brisbane)
  • Mr Kevin Croker (Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn)

Religious nominated the CRA (Catholic Religious Australia) and/or Directors

  • Fr Paul Cashen msc (Adelaide)
  • Sr Sue Richardson pbvm (Melbourne)

Ex Officio

  • Fr Frank Devoy, Council Secretary (Director, Office for Clergy Life and Ministry)
  • Rev Paul Simmons (Coordinator of the Permanent Diaconate)

INTRODUCING MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL FOR CLERGY LIFE AND MINISTRY

Fr Martin Ashe is the Director of Ministry to Priests in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. He studied for the priesthood at All Hallows College, Dublin and was ordained in 1978. He worked as assistant priest in a number of parishes. From 1990 - 1996 he was on the staff of Corpus Christi Seminary, Clayton. He was Parish Priest of Sunbury for a period of eight years until his present appointment in 2005. In this role he is committed to providing a variety of resources to help with the ongoing formation and pastoral care of priests.

Rev. Tony Aspinall was ordained a Deacon for the Diocese of Sale at Our Lady Help of Christians Narre Warren in August 1998. He studied at Catholic Theological College Melbourne. Tony was appointed to his home parish of Narre Warren for five years. During this time he was appointed chaplain to the Villa Maria Aged care facility in Berwick and then part time chaplain to St Francis Xavier secondary college Beaconsfield & Berwick in addition to parish duties. Following this, Bishop Coffey transferred Tony to Cranbourne parish in February 2003 and subsequently to chaplaincy at St Peter's secondary college January 2004 in addition to parish duties. He is a member of the Professional Standards Resource Group, Victoria, in its work relating to "Towards Healing". Tony has been married to June since 1971 and has two children and has approximately five grandchildren with further arrivals imminent.

Bishop Justin Bianchini is the Bishop of Geraldton in Western Australia, ordained Bishop of Geraldton on the 19th of May 1992. He was born in 1941 and spent his early years in New Norcia. He entered the Minor Seminary of St Charles Guildford in 1954 and studied Theology in Brignole-Sale College in Genoa being ordained there on the 29th of June 1964.  For 28 years he served as a priest of the Perth Archdiocese and mainly in Parish Ministry. From 1985 - 1992 he was Director of the Ministry to Priests Programme and Vocations Director for Perth. He was a member of the previous structure, the Commission for Clergy Life and Ministry, now known as the Council. Taking up membership again in 2010 he is keen to contribute whatever he can to the overall wellbeing of clergy across Australia.

Fr Peter Bianchini, Chairman, trained at St Charles Seminary, Guildford WA, was ordained priest in 1974 and is now PP of Highgate. He has been director of both Pontifical Missions Society and the Archdiocesan Marriage Preparation Services. He has been a member of the NCP committee and was the Chairman for 12 months. He is director of the Permanent Diaconate program in Perth and co-director, with Joseph Parkinson, of the Perth's Clergy Life and Mission Committee. Peter believes in the ongoing formation of the clergy as "we can never be satisfied with the knowledge we have and need to reflect together on our experience of the lived priesthood".

Mrs Carmel Crawford is the Assistant Director of the Archbishop's Office for Evangelisation with responsibility for Policy and Mission. Prior to this appointment, Carmel worked on the Committee for Mission in the Melbourne Archdiocese and for 5 years was a pastoral associate in the partnered parishes of Sacred Heart, Newport and St Margaret Mary's, Spotswood. She was executive officer and senior educator with the Marriage Education Programme Inc, a not-for-profit agency providing pre and post marriage education for couples. Carmel is married with five children and together with her husband Tim continues her work in marriage education on a voluntary basis. Her studies have included B. Education and B. Theology, she is currently undertaking post-graduate study at Catholic Theological College, Melbourne.

Fr Paul Cashen msc grew up in Adelaide and ordained a priest with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in 1969. He has served in parishes in Brisbane, Adelaide and Darwin until 1990. He undertook a master's degree in theological studies at the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium in 1990 and on returning to Australia became the Rector of St. Paul's National Seminary at Kensington, Sydney until 1998. Paul later returned to Louvain as a doctoral research student for a year and this he continued through the Australian Catholic University whilst parish priest of Hindmarsh and Flinders Park in Adelaide. He was awarded a PhD in 2006 and the title of his thesis was From the Sacred Heart to the Heart of the Sacred: The Spiritual Journey of Australian Catholics since the Second Vatican Council. In 2004 Archbishop Wilson invited him to serve on the Archdiocesan Leadership Team in Adelaide with the responsibility to assist the Moderator of the Curia in Strategic Pastoral Planning and Ministry Formation.

Mr Kevin Croker manages Clergy Support Services in the Canberra-Goulburn Archdiocese. He comes from a farming background near Wagga Wagga NSW and completed his secondary education at St Ignatius College, Sydney. In 1969 he joined the Commonwealth Bank and spent 20 enjoyable years with the Corporation serving at both branch and administrative levels. In 1991 he joined the Archdiocesan Chancery Office and since that time has worked in the general areas of finance, property and more recently, in the care and support of archdiocesan clergy, especially with those priests who are retired. He is married to Margaret and they have a son and daughter who are both married and two grandsons.

Mrs Cheryle Davies works with the Archdiocese of Brisbane as Clergy Healthcare Coordinator. Cheryle is a registered nurse with a background in community nursing and health promotion. Her role involves working with the clergy to address health and wellbeing issues and support clergy when they are unwell. Cheryle is part of the 'Clergy Health Network' which meets annually and seeks to support and assist those working in clergy healthcare nationally. She is married to Mark and they have 3 young adult children.

Mgr Ian Dempsey

Bishop Brian Heenan is the Bishop of Rockhampton, Queensland. He was born in the Brisbane suburb of Ashgrove and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Brisbane in June 1969. Having served in various parishes as an assistant and parish priest, he became the director of Clergy Life and Ministry for the Archdiocese, becoming Bishop during his term. As a member of the Australian Bishops Committee for Clergy and Religious, he represented the Committee on the National Commission for Clergy Life and Ministry. With the restructuring of the Bishops Conference in 2006, Bishop Brian became a member of the Bishops Commission for Church Ministry and is one of the two Episcopal members on the Australian Catholic Council for Clergy Life and Ministry. He is deeply dedicated to the ongoing education and formation of clergy, ensuring quality support and care for them.

Fr Dave O'Connor is Director for Clergy Life and Ministry in the Archdiocese of Brisbane. Dave feels privileged to be appointed to this ministry in a full-time capacity as he believes that while this time in the Church is a most exciting time, it is also a challenging time for all - but especially for bishops, priests and deacons. Searching for ways to promote the ongoing human, intellectual, spiritual and emotional development of priests is a high priority.

Fr Brian Moloney grew up in Sydney and was Ordained in 1983 and became a foundation member of the Broken Bay diocese when it was established in 1986.  He has served in a variety of parishes in the diocese, the highlight of which was as the founding Pastor of a new parish on the Central Coast at Warnervale. In the past he has served as an Army Reserve Chaplain, was for a number of years on the committee of the National Council of Priests, was Secretary of the Broken Bay Pastoral Revenue Fund of Broken Bay and was until recently the Chair of the Council of Priests in Broken Bay. For the past two years he has been PP at Pennant Hills in the north of Sydney and is the presently Chair of the Clergy Life and Ministry Committee in his Diocese. He studied for his Master of Theology with the Broken Bay Institute and graduated in 2007. To try to keep a balance in his life he has recently become a member of the Symphony Chorus of the Sydney Philharmonic. Brian believes strongly in supporting his fellow priests. 

Sr Sue Richardson pbvm has just finished a five year term as leader of the Lismore Presentation Sisters. Prior to this she was Director of the Heart of Life Centre in Melbourne for nine years. The Centre attracts laity and religious from Australia and Overseas to its programmes in ministry formation and spirituality. Sue has years of experience in spiritual direction and adult faith education.

 

Ex Officio

Fr Frank Devoy, Secretary, is Director of the Office for Clergy Life and Ministry. He is a priest of the Lismore Diocese, ordained in 1967. He was appointed Assistant Priest in Mullumbimby, 1967; Inspector of Schools, 1970; Director of Catholic Education, 1972; Bishop's Secretary and Chancellor, 1981. He became Parish Priest of Grafton in 1984 and Byron Bay in 1998. He undertook post-graduate studies in Washington DC, and gained a Doctorate from Columbia University, New York, in 1989. He was the Diocesan Director of Clergy Life and Ministry for 10 years and a member of the National Commission. Prior to coming to his present position in January 2006, he had worked extensively with clergy across the country.

Rev. Paul Simmons is the Coordinator of the Permanent Diaconate in Australia and ex officio on the Council. He was ordained for the Diocese of Broken Bay in 2004 and appointed to the parish of Wyoming. Paul is a member of the Broken Bay Clergy Life and Ministry team and the Diocesan Task Force on Parish Boundaries and Pastoral Care. He is a member of the National Committee of Deacons and served on its executive for two years. Paul has been married to Susan for thirty-seven years. They have two children and six grandchildren. Prior to commencing his studies for the permanent diaconate he worked in the electricity industry for 35 years and is a past member of the Australian Human Resources Institute and the Australian Institute of Management.

 

is a priest of Adelaide Archdiocese. Two years after his ordination in 1969 he became a Navy Chaplain for 20 years, eventually becoming Director General of Chaplaincy - Navy. He was awarded the Order of Australia for his service. From 1988 to 1992 he chaired the National Council of Priests. After studies in spirituality and formation at St Louis University, he was appointed Vicar General in Adelaide from 1995 to 2000. Ian is parish priest of Brighton and Hallett Cove parishes, and part-time Director for Clergy Life and Ministry. Ian has always seen the support of brother priests as a top priority.
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Last Updated on Thursday, 04 February 2010 18:10