Australian Catholic Theological Association (ACTA) - Report on Conference - 2005
The 2005 conference of the Australian Catholic Theological Association was held from 7-10 July at Sancta Sophia College, University of Sydney. The conference focused on the fortieth anniversary of The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et spes), the final document of the Second Vatican Council.
Members engaged in a joint session with the Australian Catholic Biblical Association and Australian Catholic Moral Association on the challenges of the document for the church in contemporary Australia.
There were a number of papers from members reflecting on the way that the church has received Gaudium et spes and on the work that still needs to be undertaken in order for todays church to realise the vision of Vatican II.
Sub-themes of the conference dealt with issues in the theology of Eucharist, including its relationship to the contemporary ecological debates and the possibility for elements from Australian indigenous culture to be reflected in Eucharistic celebrations.
The office-bearers of the Association for 2005-06 are:
President: Dr Richard Lennan (Catholic Institute of Sydney)
Vice President: Dr Anne Hunt (ACU National)
Secretary: Dr. Kim Power (ACU National)
Treasurer: Dr Damien Casey (ACU National)
The Conference in 2006 will be held in Adelaide from 6-9 July.