Most Rev. Anthony Fisher OP
Archbishop of Sydney
Synopsis: It is widely agreed that trust is eroding, especially trust in major institutions and their leaders. Religious, political, governmental, justice, corporate and media institutions are less trusted today and trust between individuals is also diminished. This plays out in many negative ways in people’s lives. In this lecture, Archbishop Fisher seeks to unpack the what, why and how of trust with the help of St Thomas Aquinas. In particular, he identifies three warrants of trust without which one party will not trust another. He also examines some of Aquinas’ thoughts on leadership and concludes with some thoughts on how we might address the contemporary loss of trust and crisis of leadership.
Archbishop Fisher is the ninth Archbishop of Sydney. He practiced law before joining the Dominicans and is one of the world’s leading bioethicists. Archbishop Fisher was the foundation Director of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family in Melbourne before his appointment as an Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney in 2003. In 2010, then Bishop Fisher was appointed the third Bishop of Parramatta where he served until 2014 when he was appointed Archbishop of Sydney. Archbishop Fisher is a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the body responsible for promulgating and defending Catholic doctrine.