The new Archbishop of Melbourne, Peter A Comensoli DD STL held the Sydney launch of his new book In God’s Image: Recognizing the Profoundly Impaired as Persons at Australian Catholic University’s (ACU’s) North Sydney Campus last night.
Archbishop of Sydney, The Most Reverend Anthony Fisher OP DD, launched the book in front of 90 guests, including Archbishop of Brisbane, The Most Reverend Mark Coleridge DSS, Archbishop of Perth The Most Reverend Timothy Costelloe SDB DD, and former NSW Premier and ACU Chancellor The Hon John Fahey AC.
In God’s Image began as Archbishop Comensoli’s doctoral thesis at the University of Edinburgh and has been developed and refined into its current form.
The event was a formal celebration of the publication of the book and its important contribution to Catholic anthropology, especially in defence of persons who experience disability and who can be overlooked and misunderstood.
ACU Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Greg Craven said Archbishop Comensoli made a robust argument in the book for the personhood of every human being, arguing that it is all too easy to overlook and marginalise those who don’t fit into our category of “able-bodied” or “able-minded”.
“In God’s Image has received many generous endorsements from scholars, who have praised its contribution to contemporary Catholic theological discourse on the nature, dignity and destiny of the human being,” Professor Craven said.
“The book demonstrates we have a responsibility to live alongside those with cognitive impairments as friends, in a community, and to be open to learning from them how it is we can be more perfectly human.
“The book will pave the way forward for Christian theologians working on the topic of disability and impairment.”
Archbishop Comensoli has had a long association with ACU. He has participated in a number of student activities through our campus ministry, including presiding at graduation masses in his former role as the Bishop of Broken Bay, which neighbours Sydney and our North Sydney Campus.
The Archbishop has served on the advisory board of ACU’s PM Glynn Institute and participated as a panelist at public events organised by the University. Archbishop Comensoli also served as Chair of the Internal Unit Review of their Faculty of Theology and Philosophy in 2015.