Women Deacons and Priests in the Catholic Church – Wollongong SIP

Speaker: Jan Barnett

Jan Barnett is a Sister of St Joseph.

Her background is in secondary and tertiary education, as teacher, principal, lecturer and area administrator at the Catholic Education Office, Parramatta. From 1995 until 2000, she served as a member of her congregation’s leadership team.

Currently, Jan is the Congregational Co-ordinator of the Josephite Justice Network. She also works as a facilitator and consultant with educational, church and interfaith communities, and serves with a number of social justice groups. She is a member of the Justice Committee for the Religious Congregations of NSW and works with WATAC (Women and the Australian Church).

In the late 90’s, she was involved in the ‘Participation of Women in Church’ Hearings, and presented her congregation’s submission to the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. Since that time, she has facilitated a number of conferences and review meetings for religious and specific women’s groups.

Jan’s commitment to the equality of women in society and Church leads her to an ongoing exploration and advocacy of a range of issues related to women.