116. Elissa Roper - 28 May 2023

Australian Women Preach

Elissa writes:

I'm a theologian specialising in synodality in the Catholic Church. I am interested in building a mature, responsible and loving Church.

I live in Australia and my writing has a focus on developing foundations for Catholic ecclesiology in a new era of synodality. I explore how such foundations may support the praxis and good governance of synodality.

I am honoured to manage a Program of Theology for women in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands; a partnership in tertiary theological education between the Sisters of Mercy and the Divine Word University. I am an approved lecturer in systematic theology in this Program.

I have been a sessional academic with the Australian Catholic University.

I provided a theological reflection on "Becoming a more synodal Church" for the Assembly of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences in Oceania, February 2023. I had a role assisting the Drafting Committee of the Fifth Plenary Council of the Catholic Church in Australia in 2022. I gave the keynote speech to the Sandhurst Diocesan Assembly in February 2023.

I am a member of the Australian Catholic Theological Association (ACTA) and the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea (ISMAPNG) Theological Association.

I was a member of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne’s Ecumenical & Interfaith Commission for four years before its decommissioning in March 2021. This role included hosting the Pontifical Commission for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) in September 2018. I was a member of the Victorian Council of Church’s Faith and Order Commission for six years, and the VCC Liaison Officer on the Board of the Jewish Christian Muslim Association of Australia.

Since 2015 I have presented papers at conferences including ANZATS, ACTA, the Australian Lonergan Workshop, the Fourth International Receptive Ecumenism Conference, Women as Church Conference, ISMAPNG Theological Association, Postgraduate Student Experience Symposium, ACU Postgraduate Conference, and the UD Research Days.

My husband and I have four children.