Most Rev Peter A Comensoli DD STL MLitt PhD

On 29 June 2018, Pope Francis announced the appointment of Most Reverend Peter Andrew Comensoli as the ninth Archbishop for the Archdiocese of Melbourne, the largest Archdiocese in Oceania.

Born in the Illawarra region of NSW, Archbishop Comensoli has served as Bishop to the Diocese of Broken Bay (2014-2018) and as Auxiliary-Bishop to the Archdiocese of Sydney (2011-2014).

At the national level, Archbishop Comensoli is Chair of the Bishops' Commission for Life, Family and Public Engagement.; Chair of the Australian Catholic Council for Public Engagement; The ACBC Nominee on the Australian Catholic University (ACU) Senate; and a member of the Australian Bishops' Permanent Committee.

Archbishop Comensoli holds a Bachelor of Theology (1989) and a Bachelor of Sacred Theology (1991) from CIS; a Licentiate of Sacred Theology (STL) in moral theology from the Accademia Alfonsiana (2000); a Master of Letters (MLitt) in moral philosophy from the University of St Andrews (2007); and a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) in theological ethics from the University of Edinburgh (2011).

He is author of 'In God's Image: Recognizing the Profoundly Impaired as Persons'.

Dr Sandie Cornish

Dr Sandie Cornish is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Theology at the Australian Catholic University and a member of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. She holds a PhD in Practical Theology, a Licentiate in Catholic Social Doctrine and Ethics, a Master of Public Policy, and a Bachelor of Economics.

Sandie was an expert facilitator at the Synod on Synodality and is coordinator of Study Group 2: hearing the cry of the poor and the earth. She was one of the periti for the Fifth Plenary Council of the Catholic Church in Australia and a member of the Drafting Committee. Sandie has worked in faith based social justice and human rights organisations at the diocesan, national and Asia Pacific levels where her roles have included organisational leadership, strategic planning, policy analysis and advocacy, social research, mission integration and formation for mission. She was the Director of the Office for Justice, Ecology and Peace of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, and played a significant role in the Bishops' Committee for Justice, Development and Peace's consultations in the 1980's and 1990's.

Fr Justin Glyn

Justin Glyn is a blind Catholic priest, (civil and canon) lawyer and Jesuit who grew up in South Africa and migrated to New Zealand in 1998 before joining the Jesuits in Australia in 2009. He has worked as a lawyer in all three countries and has a doctorate in international and administrative law from the University of Auckland. A fellow of the Loyola Institute and honorary fellow of ACU, he has written on law and theology - especially the theology of disability, is the General Counsel to the Australian Jesuits, in 2023, was appointed a consultor to the Dicastery (Vatican department) for Laity Family and Life.

Dr Louise Gosbell

Dr Louise Gosbell is the Research Manager at the Australian University of Theology. Louise's research focuses on disability and the bible, as well as disability in church practice. Louise served for over 10 years as the Sydney co-ordinator for CBM Australia's Luke 14 program and has recently worked with them again to create some new disability resources for churches. Louise also worked with Social Issues Executive of the Sydney Diocese of the Anglican Church to create a resource for disability inclusion in Sydney Anglican Churches. Louise has a lived experience of disability and is passionate about seeing church communities become places of belonging for people with disability.

Daniel P. Horan, PHD

Daniel P. Horan, PhD is Professor of Philosophy, Religious Studies and Theology and Director of the Center for the Study of Spirituality at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana. He is also Affiliated Professor of Spirituality at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas. A columnist for the National Catholic Reporter, he is the author or editor of sixteen books, including Catholicity and Emerging Personhood: A Contemporary Theological Anthropology, A White Catholic's Guide to Racism and Privilege, and The Way of the Franciscans: A Prayer Journey Through Lent. Prof. Horan's most recent books are titled Engaging Thomas Merton: Spirituality, Justice, and Racism and Fear and Faith: Hope and Wholeness in a Fractured World. He is currently working on a book on Christology tentatively titled, Not Because of Sin: Reconsidering the Reason God Became Human. His academic research, writing, and teaching focuses on medieval and contemporary spirituality, theological anthropology, Christology, antiracism and LGBTQ issues, and theologies of creation. Prof. Horan regularly lectures around the United States and abroad; and serves on several university, academic, and publication editorial boards, including the Board of Directors of the Catholic Theological Society of America and the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality. He is recipient of numerous awards for his writing and service and is co-host of The Francis Effect Podcast.

Vittorio Scelzo, Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life

Vittorio Scelzo was born in Salerno on 27 October 1975. Since the mid-1990s he has participated in the experience of communicating the Gospel to people with disabilities of the Community of Sant'Egidio. From 2004 to 2011 he was in charge of the Disabled Sector of the Catechetical Office of the Italian Episcopal Conference. From 2022 he animated, on behalf of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life of the Holy See, the synodal listening sessions dedicated to the faithful with disabilities that led to the publication of the documents "The Church is our Home" and "A Joy without Limits". The first fruit of the consultation was the participation, for the first time, of a faithful with disabilities in the two synod sessions on synodality.