The University of Notre Dame Australia has awarded His Eminence Mario Cardinal Grech, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, an Honorary Doctorate in recognition of his outstanding service to the Catholic Church and his contribution to ecclesial leadership, dialogue and renewal.
Cardinal Grech was conferred with the degree of Doctor of Divinity honoris causa during a special ceremony at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney on Friday 6 November.
The intimate ceremony brought together Church and University leaders and invited guests to recognise Cardinal Grech’s distinguished contribution to the life of the universal Church, particularly his leadership in advancing synodality as a way of fostering greater listening, participation and discernment.
The University’s Interim Vice Chancellor, Professor David Lloyd, said Cardinal Grech’s approach to leadership had relevance in today’s increasingly complex and digital world.
“Good leadership requires discernment, of questions before answers, and of those same answers in light of new questions,” Professor Lloyd said.
“Above all, leadership requires the capacity to listen to people whose experience may be different from our own, to test our assumptions and, occasionally, to accept that our first answer was not necessarily our best one.”
Professor Lloyd said Cardinal Grech’s leadership offered an important example for Notre Dame and its students, in reminding us that sometimes the most important contribution a leader can make is not to speak first, but to listen well.
Cardinal Grech was ordained to the priesthood in Malta in 1984 and appointed Bishop of Gozo by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. He was appointed Pro-Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops by Pope Francis in 2019, becoming Secretary General the following year, when he was also created Cardinal.
In this role, Cardinal Grech has played a pivotal part in the Church’s global synodal process, encouraging Catholics around the world to embrace a culture of listening, dialogue, discernment and shared responsibility.
Presenting the citation, Notre Dame’s Associate Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic, Professor Renée Kohler-Ryan recognised Cardinal Grech as a pastor, canon lawyer, theologian and close collaborator of successive pontiffs whose service had helped advance one of the most significant processes of ecclesial renewal in recent Catholic history.
The citation highlighted that renewal within the Church was not the responsibility of individuals or offices alone, but required all the baptised to listen, speak, discern and contribute their gifts to the Church’s mission.
Professor Lloyd said this vision had particular significance for Catholic higher education.
“For a Catholic university, our search for truth is inseparable from our understanding of the dignity of every human person,” he said.
“Cardinal Grech reminds us that conviction and humility are not opposites. We can hold firmly to what we believe while remaining genuinely willing to listen and learn from others.”
The honorary doctorate was conferred by Notre Dame Deputy Chancellor Anne Pitos. The Most Reverend Timothy Costelloe SDB, Archbishop of Perth and President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, led the University Prayer and the concluding prayer was offered by the Archbishop of Sydney, The Most Reverend Anthony Fisher OP.
Cardinal Grech’s visit to Australia is being hosted by Notre Dame’s Global Centre for Catholic Leaders and includes engagements with Church leaders, academics, students and communities exploring leadership, synodality, shared responsibility, social cohesion and dialogue.
The Doctor of Divinity honoris causa recognises Cardinal Grech’s outstanding service to the renewal of the Church through synodality, his distinguished theological and academic contribution, and his commitment to a model of leadership grounded in faith, listening, discernment and service.
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