This week the Thomas More Centre hosted the Melbourne book launch of Professor Tracey Rowland’s book, Remembering Cardinal George Pell: Recollections of a Great Man of the Church (Ignatius Press, 2025).
Professor Rowland is the very distinguished Australian theological/cultural scholar who is renowned and in demand around the Catholic and wider theological world. She is currently the St John Paul II Chair of Theology at the University of Notre Dame Australia.
This position represents only a fractional tip of Professor Rowland’s extraordinary academic and writing career, which she has forged out in an original way, integrating her daunting array of studies in the arts, letters, law, political science, theology and philosophy. The TMC is therefore honoured and delighted that she is one of our patrons of whom the late Cardinal George Pell was the very first back in the 1990s.
Our gifted Gabriel Tipnis somehow assisted us on the evening in three places at once: across books sales, IT and audiovisual technology. He has edited a recording of the evening’s talks and it may be watched here.
I opened the launch with a general welcome and gave thanks to Fr Dean Mathieson, parish priest of St Peter’s Toorak, which has once again opened its very welcoming venue for our second Melbourne book launch there.
Fr Mathieson and his team are behind the Truth, Goodness and Beauty Project in Melbourne, which has hosted Holy Hours, conferences, a young adults group Lumen and “Evenings for Catholic Artists” that “offer opportunities to learn, network, and connect with other artists and creatives”.
Professor Rowland generously mixed with the 65 or more guests at the launch and welcomed Mr Billie Bell and his wife who represented the Pell family at the event. The Cardinal’s brother David, who spoke so powerfully at the Cardinal’s funeral Mass and is a contributor to the book, watched the event from his home in Bendigo and let us know that he was delighted with the night.
The guest speaker at the launch was Greg Sheridan, the very experienced foreign editor of The Australian newspaper, online commentator and author who has undertaken a trilogy of books (with over six prior titles under his belt), which study the importance of faith in God, Christ-centred faith and the impact of Christianity on the wellbeing of human beings and the integrity of society.
The third book in the series is entitled How Christians Can Succeed Today: Reclaiming the Genius of the Early Church (2025), which the TMC plans to highlight in the weeks ahead. This week the book is listed as number-one best-seller in Amazon’s Christian Social Issues category.
His talk was an engaging and masterful mix of the personal, reflective and funny. Greg humbly spoke of his friendship with Cardinal Pell, his ability to “see in me things I didn’t see myself” and to encourage him in his work. He remembered “always sparring and debating with the man”, sometimes on matters relating to the Church and even being challenged by the Cardinal on “my own areas of foreign policy”.
He realised in his many meetings how many ordinary people warmed to the Cardinal and revered him for his courage, authenticity, his vision and his punchy Australian sense.
The formal part of the evening concluded with a crisp and elegant vote of thanks given by the new director of the Christopher Dawson Centre for Cultural Studies, the scholar and former personal secretary to Archbishop Julian Porteous, Mr Alex Sidhu.
A number of the Melbourne-based contributors attended the book launch and there was a warm sense of old friends and new friends mingling and sharing memories and drinks. A number of those present said that the talks and the people made them quite emotional “in a good way”, as one said.
An additional buzz to the room was caused by the informal visit of the former prime minister (and contributor to the book), the Hon. Tony Abbott, who with good humour unrolled the TMC banner at the beginning of the evening.
TMC organiser in Brisbane, Mark Makowiecki, has reviewed Professor Rowland’s recent book. His article will appear in the next edition of News Weekly. You can also watch and listen to Mark’s interview with Professor Rowland in December 2024 at the TMC YouTube channel.
The attractive Parousia Media hardback copy of the book can be purchased for $40 by contacting TMC at admin@tmc.org.au.
Opportunities to Hear About Drug Policies in Melbourne
The Drug Advisory Council of Australia (DACA), the early work of which was supported by TMC founder Dr Joseph N. Santamaria, is hosting two events of interest addressing the growing impact of drugs and addiction to Australian neighbourhoods.
Dr Phillip Drum from San Francisco and Pamela McColl from Vancouver, author of The Pied Pipers of Pot: Protecting Youth from the Marijuana Industry, will speak at a Youth Forum on October 12.
Also, there is a cocktail reception and oration at Kew Golf Club on Tuesday, October 14 at 6pm. Speakers include Dr Phillip Drum, Paul D. Santamaria KC and Professor John Toumbourou, the Chair in Health Psychology at Deakin University. Book here.
Friends and Debating – TMC Men’s Debating Team
We are looking forward to hearing about the lively debate that is being run in Brisbane on October 2 by Mark Makowiecki and Barclay McGain for the TMC Men’s Debating Group. The Facebook page summons up the lively style of the recently assassinated American Christian, Charlie Kirk, and the page describes the debate which is to be run “in a civil manner – in spite of the violent radicals who seek to divide our country and think human life is not precious. All are welcome.”
See the event page here.
Here’s to the light of truth rather than heat amongst friends. Remember your Guardian Angel today!
Anna Krohn
Executive Director
Thomas More Centre
