RIP Anthony (Tony) Kelly CSsR., 1938-2024.
Michael Kelly CSsR writes: I am sad to inform you that Rev. Professor Anthony J. Kelly CSsR died this afternoon (Sunday 3 March) at 5:50 pm at Nazareth House in East Camberwell. Michael Mason CSsR, his brother Geoff FMS, and I were there for a number of hours this afternoon, but both Michael Mason and I had to leave before he died so the information was conveyed to me by Geoff who was present. His sisters visited him recently.
It has been a long journey for Tony since he had a massive stroke in January 2023, but he passed peacefully and is now with the Lord.
He has been an extraordinary contributor to the theological community in both Australia and internationally. His gift to many younger scholars through supervision and writing has been immense. Of course his character made him known and loved by many.
He will be greatly missed by confreres, family, colleagues and his many friends
Chris Monaghan CP, YTU President writes: Last night Tony Kelly CCsR (YTU President 1980-85, 1994-1997) died peacefully and is now surely delighting in the beatific vision he so lovingly and poetically described for us. He was a poet, theologian, author, and supporter of new generations of scholars through YTU and ACU. It is said the reason we can see so far is because we are standing on the shoulders of giants - Tony has been a giant among us and we are all so much the richer for it.
Tony a member of the Vatican Theological Commission
And a personal tribute to a friend for 60 years, a colleague at YTU from the beginning, a co-teacher, though his meditatively-paced presentation contrasted with my galloping through history, encouraging the research that led to the Heart of Life Centre, frequent contributor to Compass Theology Review, suggesting that we refer to it as ‘Topical Theology’, kindly writing the Foreword to The History of Compass…
While many of us remember his bon mots, like ‘To What Purpose?” instead of ‘Why?’; his nuanced comment that ‘Some people are not plagued by self-doubt’; and, as we enjoyed his sonorously- articulate utterances, ‘I am not without my mimics’. And his lengthy poems at the YTU Revues – he was President of YTU for 10 of its first 50 years. He contributed while unwell to the book on the 50 years of YTU, a touch of his testament to his role in Australian theological education.
A final word that I have treasured for half a century now. In an article on Word and Story in Compass, he noted that when God become incarnate, he did not come as dogma or doctrine but as story. And he added, “We are part of the autobiography of God.” Peter Malone MSC
