57th Annual Conference

57th Annual Conference – 2nd to 5th September 2024

Brisbane Queensland

The Canon Law Society of Australia and New Zealand announces the 57th Annual Conference which will be held at the Rydges South Bank, Brisbane Queensland.

Rydges South Bank, Brisbane Queensland, is situated in Brisbane’s most enviable location, the South Bank arts and entertainment precinct. The hotel adjoins with the Brisbane Convention Centre via a walkway, it is only a few minutes walk to the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, the Queensland Museum, State Library of Queensland and the new magnificent Gallery of Modern Art. Downtown Brisbane, Treasury Casino and the Queen Street Mall are an easy 10 minute stroll away.

The Conference this year will conclude after breakfast on Thursday, 5th September, giving you time to enjoy Brisbane and catching up face-to-face with other members.

The Conference will be held face-to-face.  It will not be presented on Zoom, nor will it be recorded for later viewing online.

Members pay $1,600 Early-Bird (until 30 June 2024, then $1,750) and Non-Members pay $1,750 Early-Bird (until 30 June 2024, then $1,900).

The fee includes the conference cost, all meals and accommodation (3 nights), and drinks at dinner. Compared with other conferences, the CLSANZ Conference is the cheapest, partly because the Society’s funds subsidise the Conference and associated costs.

The Program

Dr Edward Morgan KC was called to the Bar (England and Wales) in 1989 and the Bar of Northern Ireland in 1999.  He has represented priests throughout the UK and Ireland in connection with issues of canonical defamation, restoration to ministry and the preservation of the internal forum.  His licentiate thesis (KU Leuven) examined the status of diocesan clergy from the vantage point of the civil law.  In contrast, his doctoral thesis represented a unique examination of the legitimate expectations of diocesan clergy in the light of canon 384 of the Code of Canon Law, drawing important comparisons between the procedures applied to diocesan clergy and those applicable to the medical profession.  He is a visiting professor at Leuven and was the architect of the National Tribunal of England and Wales (of which he is the Chancellor).

Fr Giorgio Giovanelli is a priest of the Diocese of Fano, Italy.  In 2003 he obtained a licentiate in moral theology at the Alphonsian Academy in Rome.  In 2006 he obtained a Doctorate in Moral Theology at the Alphonsian Academy in Rome.  In 2007 he was appointed professor of Special Moral Theology at the Antonianum Institute in Bologna.  In 2016 he obtained the Doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Lateran University, his Doctoral Dissertation being: “Quoties Iustae obstent causae.  From the administrative criminal process to the extraordinary judicial criminal process”.  Currently he is a Lecturer in General Norms at the Pontifical Lateran University, Rome, and is a Marriage Commissioner with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

 Dr Rocio Figueroa is a Peruvian Catholic theologian and is a systematic theology lecturer in Catholic Theological College, Auckland.  She has previously lectured and worked in Peru, Italy and Mexico.  She worked in the Holy See as head of the women’s section in the Pontifical Council for the Laity.  Rocio’s present research focus is theological and pastoral responses for survivors of Church sexual and spiritual abuse.

Dr Chad Glendinning is Dean of Canon Law Faculty at Saint Paul University, Ottawa.  He obtained his doctorate in canon law at Saint Paul University in 2010 and has held various positions of associate professor, Secretary, Director of Studies and Vice-Dean within the Faculty.  He is the Anglophone Consultor of the Canadian Canon Law Society and has served in various roles for several ecclesiastical tribunals.  Dr. Glendinning specialises in Sacramental and Liturgical law.