Mgr James Denis Edwards

Early Life

James Denis Edwards was born in Port Pirie on December 10, 1943, the son of Marcus Noel and Kathleen Margaret Edwards – though known for most of his life as Denis. He received his Primary Education at St Mark's School in Port Pirie and then at Our Lady Queen of Peace at Albert Park. As a young boy he entered St Francis Xavier Minor Seminary where he received his secondary education. Then all his theological studies were also undertaken at St Francis Xavier Seminary.

Appointments

He was ordained priest in St Francis Xavier's Cathedral on July 9, 1966. His first appointment in December that year was as Assistant Priest in St Mary's parish. It seems his teaching ability was recognised at an early stage because while at St Mary's he was also asked to assist at the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) – later to be known as Continuing Education Centre.

In January 1970 he was appointed Assistant Priest in Tranmere while continuing his involvement in the CCD. In November that year he was appointed a member of the Senate of Priests (later to become the Council of Priests).

In November 1972 Fr Denis was appointed as Chaplain to the YCS and also assistant supervisor of the CCD, and he moved to live at Greenacres but with no parish responsibilities. In June 1973 he was granted study leave and he went to Fordham University in New York where he gained a Master of Religious Education degree. Here at Fordham he was under the direction of Avery Dulles on the dynamics of faith in Karl Rahner and John of the Cross. From then on Karl Rahner had a great influence on Denis' thinking and further studies. He even had a black-and-white photo of Karl Rahner propped on the side bookshelf peering over his shoulder while he wrote, as it were.

On his return from study leave in January 1975 he was appointed Supervisor of CCD and to live at Kingswood, although for the first three months he lived at Plympton in the absence of Bishop Kennedy.

In August 1976 he was granted further study leave, this time to attend the Catholic University of America in Washington for two semesters where he was awarded a Doctor of Theology degree – STD.

Meanwhile he was a member of the Priests Continuing Education Committee for a number of years, and in December 1980 he was also made a member of the Priestly Life and Ministry Committee.

On his return from Washington he was appointed as part-time Assistant Priest to work in Mansfield Park. This was a section of the Ottoway parish that for some years was entrusted to the care of Fr Denis and Fr Michael Trainor. In 1984 he took long service leave and holidays from February to May.

In April 1986 Archbishop Faulkner asked him to serve as his Consultant Theologian. Around the same time he was appointed a member of the Council of Priests and also a Diocesan Consultor. He was re-appointed to these positions again in December 1989. Thus he was becoming more recognised for his leadership qualities within the Adelaide church.

Teaching Career

The next big move was his appointment as Professor at St Francis Xavier Seminary in May 1994. He continued in this role while the seminary academic studies moved in September 1997 to the newly established Adelaide Theological Colleges Campus at Brooklyn Park, later known as the Adelaide College of Divinity (ACD). The Rostrevor site was vacated in 1998 when students moved to a new residence in Morphettville. Catholic Theological College entered into a coalition with the Anglican and Uniting Churches as a School of Theology for Flinders University. In 2013 the Archdiocese entered into a partnership with the Australian Catholic University (ACU) thus establishing a campus in Adelaide to deliver theological education. Fr Denis continued teaching with ACU until his death.

Meanwhile he had various part-time appointments as Supply Priest to Modbury parish, Moderator of Richmond parish, Supply priest at Semaphore, Priest in Residence at Goodwood and finally in December 2009 as Priest in Residence at Tranmere providing weekend Masses while continuing his theological work. He was also acting as advisor to the Chancellor Team, with special focus on pastoral initiatives and planning for the future.

Throughout this time he had important roles in diocesan leadership, particularly in the various renewal movements through the decades: in the Diocesan Pastoral Renewal Program initiated by Archbishop James Gleeson in 1981; and as theological advisor to Archbishop Len Faulkner for the period of his leadership, 1986–2001. While committed to the Catholic church’s sacramental view of ordained ministry and church leadership, Denis was also deeply committed to fostering lay leadership in the church, and to urging the church to find practices which uphold and embody the equal dignity of women.

In addition to his work with ACU Fr Denis was constantly in great demand as a speaker and lecturer on various aspects of church life and ministry, both within our own diocese and beyond.

Mgr Edwards was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 2012 for his contribution to the archdiocese and to theological education.

In November 2016 Fr Edwards was made a Prelate of Honour by Pope Francis with the title of Monsignor – a well deserved mark of recognition of his great work for the Church. The same year he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.

Gifted Theologian

He excelled as a theologian and he was always anxious to share his wisdom, not to bring recognition to himself, but rather to ensure that the faithful gave their best to living out their faith in these challenging times. As a great teacher Denis had the remarkable gift of teaching and preaching about the truths of our faith with a depth of theology but in language that could be readily understood by all. Thus his sermons were always a delight to listen to.

Ecumenism was another of Denis’ lasting commitments. He was the longest-serving member of the Australian Lutheran–Roman Catholic Dialogue (1983–2016). He listened deeply, recognising the faith of the Lutherans as a real gift to Catholics, and looking for ways to receive expressions of their faith into our tradition.

A founding member of the International Society for Science and Religion, he wrote 14 books on the dialogue between science and faith and was a sought after speaker around the globe, particularly in the area of ecological theology and the papal encyclical Laudato Si’.

In Adelaide, Mgr Edwards chaired the Adelaide Catholic Diocesan Ecumenical and Interfaith Commission for five years.

Denis Edwards was a man who always tried to keep fit and he usually went to the gym three times a week. And it was there that he suffered a severe stroke on Saturday March 2, 2019, and sadly he died three days later on March 5.

Concelebrated Funeral Mass was celebrated in St Francis Xavier's Cathedral on March 12. Principal Celebrant was Bishop Gregory O'Kelly SJ. (Archbishop Wilson had resigned and Bishop O'Kelly was appointed as Apostolic Administrator.) He was assisted by Bishops Eugene Hurley and Charles Gauci, plus a large number of priests of the archdiocese and beyond. There were several representatives of other churches present in recognition of Denis' work in ecumenism.

Fr Philip Marshall delivered the homily. He spoke of Mgr Denis thus:

The beautiful man we commend to God today lived the mystery of God's love from his earliest days, placing himself at the service of love even as a child. His whole life was an openness to, a reflection on God’s effective Word.

He sought it in the dark mysticism of St John of the Cross and the transcendent mysticism of Karl Rahner. He found it early in the everyday realities of human experience. He discovered it in the story of our faith and its great seekers – Athanasius, Basil, Macrina, Karl Barth and Pope Francis…he discovered it in the ineffable mystery of creation, and he lived it in simplicity, humility, loving friendship and steadfast integrity every day of his life.

He pointed us to the grace at the heart of everything. He was our teacher, our guide, a friend beyond words and a true priest.

A wonderful tribute to Mgr Denis Edwards was given by his close friend and fellow theologian, Fr James McEvoy.

He described Denis as " a priest, a teacher, a prolific author, and a theologian with an international profile in several key areas of theological inquiry. Yet he was, first, a disciple: his fundamental and constant concern was to be attentive to the drawing of God’s Spirit. His gentle, unassuming presence gave expression to that concern. His life was about God.

Denis was a fine teacher. He loved teaching. Adept at understanding issues from students’ perspectives, he could explain to beginners, step by step, even the most sophisticated line of thought, and help students discover how that understanding mattered to their lives. His books were written with that same skill—aimed at the “average lay reader” yet also read by leading theologians. He was a clear thinker and a skilled communicator. Those gifts, along with armfuls of patience, were carried into his supervision of doctoral students. In demand as a supervisor, he would usher students along, through the morass of self-doubt that can plague that undertaking. He trusted students’ gifts, allowing them to flourish.

Denis was a superb theologian. He had those qualities which distinguish the great from the good in our field. He had an incisive grasp of the range of questions theology deals with, and a detailed understanding of the various approaches to those questions across the years, from the first century to the twenty-first. That task demands not only his capacious mind, but also decades of study. He dedicated the last 40 years to two important issues: the relationship between science and theology, and theology’s response to the ecological crisis. On these, he was a world leader, and they were the focus of his 15 books, (the latest yet to be published) which reflected on the heart of the Christian tradition – Jesus, the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, and Creation."

Mgr Denis Edwards' mortal remains were interred at the Centennial Park Cemetery.

May he rest in peace.