John Molony a hero of Vatican II

Bishop Pat Power offered these words at the funeral of Professor John Molony (pictured) on 21 Sept 2018 at St Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, Aranda, ACT.

The 1989 Synod of the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn was the first diocesan synod in Australia since the Second Vatican Council. It was convoked out of the genius and vision of Archbishop Francis Carroll. Its theme was ‘Coming Home in Christ’. I chaired a number of the sessions over the three days and for me one of the most moving of the contributions was made by John Molony. He had made a couple of incisive interventions in earlier discussions, but towards the end of proceedings, he said simply: I would like to thank Fr Geoff Lloyd for nominating me as a delegate to this Synod and Archbishop Carroll for accepting that nomination. After many years, I feel that I have finally come home.