Renowned British author and theologian Father Timothy Radcliffe OP arrived in Adelaide on April 10 for a three-week tour of South Australia’s Catholic community. During his visit to South Australia, he is meeting with various Archdiocesan groups including Catholic leaders and educators, clergy, Religious, parish baptismal teams, Ministry Formation Team, RCIA, Office for Worship and the Dominican community as well as groups in the Diocese of Port Pirie.
This week Father Timothy worked with leaders in Catholic schools and offices and inspired them with inclusive models of faith-inspired leadership. He used the rich image of family, a caring nurturing and forgiving family, where each person can be him/herself, as a model for both church and school. To deepen understandings Fr Timothy drew on scripture and in particular the parable of the Prodigal Son. Rich input provided a wellspring of discussion and practical ideas as participants reflected on insights gained.
Now a visiting lecturer and preacher around the world, Fr Timothy is based at Blackfriars, Oxford, but spends two thirds of the year travelling. He has honorary doctorates at universities in the UK, France and the United States and is a highly sought after lecturer and preacher who argues that Catholic tradition still has answers for the questions of the contemporary world and that we need to rediscover the “great adventure” of Christianity.
A former master-general of the Dominican Order Fr Timothy was invited to Adelaide by Archbishop Philip Wilson to talk about his book, Take the Plunge: Living baptism and confirmation, which follows a string of best-sellers including What is the point of being a Christian and Why go to church.
Vicar General Father Philip Marshall said it was a great coup for Adelaide to have Fr Radcliffe here and his visit was an important part of the Archbishop’s commitment to strengthening the pastoral life of the diocese.
Four Catholic schools across South Australia have been awarded $6.34 million in grants for capital works to improve learning spaces, increase opportunities for disadvantaged students and cater for more diverse learning needs.
The State Government grants — $6.34 million for Catholic schools and $6.38 million for independent schools — are for building projects to commence over the next year.
Introduced in 2018 to ensure all students have access to a first-class education, the latest funding under the scheme has been approved for four projects at Catholic schools and 103 smaller projects at independent schools.
