PLENARY COUNCIL 2020 UPDATE – Q and A in the Crypt with Lana Turvey-Collins and Fr Michael Whelan sm

Lana Turvey-Collins does not shrink from the challenge of leading a high-stakes national conversation about the future of the Catholic Church in Australia. As the facilitator of the Church’s historic Plenary Council 2020, she is leading a three-year “transformative journey” with the cultural reform of the Church on the table. In her late twenties, Lana set a trail-blazing course as director of Catholic Mission in the Sydney archdiocese. In 2012 she took a year-long sabbatical in Zambia, working for the country’s Catholic bishops as a project officer and international liaison. It turned out to be a time of deep spiritual growth.

Back with Catholic Mission in Australia, she became part of a team offering formation training for staff within Catholic sector organisations. She sees her work on the plenary as an extension of her Catholic Mission work.

Fr Michael Whelan is a Marist priest, ordained in 1972. He gained his PhD under Adrian van Kaam in 1984 and is the former Head of the Sydney College of Divinity and former Principal of the Catholic Theological Union in Sydney.  He has published four books and a number of articles in his field of spirituality. Michael believes the renewal of the Church must include a grassroots recovery of the mystical dimension of our faith. He is committed to assisting adults to become contemplative in and through their daily lives.

As part of his work in adult education through Aquinas Academy in Sydney, he is in the process of establishing a place of solitude and silence on a property in Colo, NSW, with Josephite Sister, Marie Biddle. Fr Michael is currently the Parish Priest of St Pat’s Church Hill, Sydney.