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The place of Mary in Christian theology has been a contested one, ever since the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century and also the advent of feminist theology in the twentieth century. Protestantism challenged much of the Mediaeval piety surrounding Mary in the West, along with her intercessory role and that of the saints more generally. Feminist thinking has questioned the portrayal of Mary as the demure and passive virgin-mother, a portrayal that places her beyond the ken of ordinary women.
In all this turmoil of questioning and dispute, including effects on the ecumenical front to find common ground in the figure of Mary (ARCIC), Anthony Kelly has produced a very fine and moving series of reflections on the person and theological significance of Mary. Writing from a Roman Catholic perspective, Fr Kelly points to Mary’s role in elucidating the core doctrines of the faith: the Trinity, the church, the sacraments (particularly the Eucharist), and eschatology. He sees Mary’s role in the life of the church, from beginning to end, as pervasive. Her presence weaves through every point in the church’s existence, in its origins, its ongoing ministry and mission, and its final goal. — From the Preface, Rev Dr Dorothy Lee, Melbourne.
Anthony (Tony) Kelly, a priest of the Redemptorist Order, undertook doctoral and post-doctoral studies in Rome, Toronto and Paris. For many years he was involved in Yarra Theological Union in Melbourne, and was President of YTU for ten years. Formerly President of Australian Catholic Theological Association. Past Chair of the Forum of Australian Catholic Institutes of Theology. Tony was Head of SubFaculty of Philosophy and Theology at the Australian Catholic University from 1999 to 2004. In February 2004, Tony was appointed by His Holiness Pope John Paul II to the International Theological Commission.
