By Paul Gray
One of the best media performers in the Catholic Church in Australia, Fr John Fleming, has been reappointed for another four-year term as President of Sydney’s Campion College.
Campion College is a “liberal arts” tertiary college employing teachers who openly avow their loyalty to the magisterium of the Catholic Church.
The college, located at Toongabbie in outer Sydney, will see its first cohort of graduates this year.
“We are creating leaders here at Campion and as we increasingly become known for the quality of our education, many will be attracted to a college that trains students to change and invigorate their communities,” Fr Fleming said on his reappointment.
The first batch of Campion graduates who will leave the College later this year will undertake further studies in law, medicine, teaching, politics and diplomacy.
Fr Fleming is a married priest who is a convert from Anglicanism. He was formerly an Anglican vicar.
He is well-known for both his expertise in media commentary and for his contributions in bioethical research and debate. With Dr Nicholas Tonti-Filippini, he co-edited the volume Common Ground? Seeking an Australian Consensus on Abortion and Sex Education, published last year.
Campion Board chairman, Mr Joe de Bruyn, said that under Fr Fleming’s leadership Campion College has achieved a 25 per cent growth in student numbers each year.
“The board is satisfied with the outstanding progress being made, both academically and in the physical amenity of Campion.”
The host of a long-running talkback radio program in Adelaide and director of the Southern Cross Bioethics Institute, Fr Fleming has given much of his time in recent years to helping establish Campion.
Fr Fleming says the College’s contribution to the higher education scene in Australia is vital.
“The continued growth of Campion as a quality, high level institution of higher learning promoting the liberal arts is of fundamental importance.”