Prominent bishop returns to serve Melbourne, focuses on inclusivity

This article was first published in The Melbourne Anglican on 16 January 2025.

When Archbishop Philip Freier retires in February, Bishop Alison Taylor will be coming out of retirement to serve as assistant bishop for the Melbourne diocese.

Bishop Taylor is a prominent figure in the Australian church, having been appointed as the first female bishop in Queensland in 2013 and being a strong voice for inclusivity in the Church.

Also in February, she will receive her PhD from Deakin University, where she researched the impact of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse on the authority of Church leadership.

The royal commission, which ran from 2013 to 2017, was a watershed moment in Australia’s history. It gave voice to thousands of people who had been abused by people in positions of power and trust in a number of institutions, including churches.

Bishop Taylor said that after the royal commission the Church’s moral authority to speak on any matters relating to ethics was left in shreds.

She said that bishops were given fewer opportunities in wider society to speak on matters of public concern. This decreased ability to speak negatively impacted the Church’s ability to be inclusive.

Prior to the royal commission bishops spoke out publicly on a range of matters, such as refugees, she said. “Now you don’t see that.”

“Within the church, I think as a result, we are hearing less about episcopal concern for those people in need in our society who are not actually a part of our church,” she said.

Bishop Taylor said that while the Melbourne diocese had a good record on multicultural and non-Anglo congregations, the Church lacked presence in the public space on matters of migrants and refugees, a place that used to be held strongly.

She said that the lack of public voice made people feel excluded from the Church.

Leading Anglican commentator Dr Muriel Porter, who co-supervised Bishop Taylor’s research, said churches needed to focus on humbly serving the community.

“Until the Church heals itself and re-finds its moral compass, it might need to hold back on preaching to the wider community,” she said.

Bishop Taylor was ordained in Melbourne and was serving as archdeacon when she was appointed as bishop of the Brisbane Southern Region.

She will serve as assistant bishop while Bishop Genieve Blackwell is Administrator until the next archbishop is installed.

Image: Bishop Alison Taylor returns to serve the Melbourne diocese. Picture: Supplied

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