The annual event was co-hosted by Australian Catholic University (ACU) and Speaker of the House Milton Dick MP in Canberra on 21 November.

It brought together more than 200 attendees, including parliamentarians and faith leaders.

Kohn highlighted the risks of ignoring religion's contributions to society.

Australian democracy relied on acknowledging the contributions of religion and history, not "distorting the past and pouring contempt on our faith traditions" she said.

Criticising what she called the "Vanguard of the New", Kohn noted that misrepresenting the past undermines the values underpinning democratic progress.

"The Vanguard of the New presents our history as a litany of failure, denies every virtue that our forebears upheld and rubbishes every step of progress that they laboured to achieve in the most adverse circumstances."

Mission to foster harmony

Drawing from her family's experiences of Nazism and Communism in Czechoslovakia, Kohn described how their suffering shaped her rejection of totalitarian ideologies.

She now advocates for religion's positive role in promoting dignity, community and shared purpose.

She cited St Mary MacKillop's example of collaboration across faiths, noting how a Jewish businessman provided shelter for MacKillop's school during her temporary excommunication. Such stories, she argued, reflect religion's ability to unite people in shared values.

Vice-Chancellor of ACU, Professor Zlatko Skrbis, praised Kohn's speech saying it echoed the interfaith breakfast's mission to foster harmony.

"For a decade, this event has brought together people of diverse faiths and backgrounds to engage in dialogue, prayer and reflection" he said.

Kohn produced and presented more than 1,700 programmes in her career, during which she interviewed thousands of respected religious leaders. Her guests included Archbishops, Chief Rabbis, the Dalai Lama and local clerics.

She also spoke with imams, laypeople, professionals and scholars. Additionally, she highlighted "unsung heroes" who discovered a greater purpose through their faith.

In the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours, Kohn was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for "distinguished service to the broadcast media - particularly radio, as a creator, producer and presenter, and to Jewish studies".

Sources

Australian Catholic University

CathNews New Zealand

Sheridan was referring to a speech by Joe de Bruyn, who used three examples to reflect on how to live a Catholic life. Joe de Bruyn is a retired trade unionist, Labour figure and Campion College board member.

Sheridan says that "at the first mention of the word 'abortion' a walkout began, which included a majority of graduands and a majority of university staff present".

"A serious vice-chancellor would have attended the speech himself" wrote Sheridan.

He is calling on the vice-chancellor to apologise to de Bruyn for the rudeness shown him and reiterate ACU's commitment as a Catholic institution to Catholic teaching.

University offers counselling

However, the university later offered counselling to those affected by the speech.

It said it was "deeply disappointed the speech was not more befitting of a graduation ceremony" and that it would refund ticket fees for graduates.

de Bruyn was being presented with an honorary degree by the Australian Catholic University.

In the speech, de Bruyn claimed abortion was the "single biggest killer of human beings in the world" and referred to is as a "tragedy that must be ended".

Living a Catholic faith in the public square

However Monica Doumit, writing in the Catholic Weekly, says that media reports were wrong to characterise de Bruyn's address as an inappropriate, self-indulgent rant about issues of life and human sexuality that had little relevance to a graduation ceremony.

Contrary to how it was portrayed, Doumit says de Bruyn's speech was not just a rehashing of the Catholic position on contentious issues, but a reflection on how to live one's Catholic faith in the public sphere.

De Bruyn told the graduands that for more than 40 years he had worked in a union that covered warehousing, retail and fast-food companies, fighting for the rights and wages of some of the lowest-paid workers in the country.

He explained that bringing these aspects of his Catholic faith to his work and advocacy was not controversial, but that bringing other aspects of his Catholic faith was contentious.

To illustrate his point, de Bruyn offered three examples: abortion, IVF and marriage. His point was summed up in his concluding remarks:

"As happened to me, you will be faced with issues in your professional and personal lives where the general opinion of the majority of the population is at odds with the teaching of the Church.

"My experience is that many Catholics cave in to peer pressure. They think their professional lives will be harmed if they promote the teaching of the Church. My experience is that this is not so.

"Despite my view on some issues being at odds with the views of my contemporaries over the past 50 years, it never affected my career at all."

Listening Church

Australia's new cardinal-designate, Mykola Bychok, has backed de Bruyn's anti-abortion speech.

"Freedom of speech is an important pillar of our society, so is freedom of religion'' he said.

"We must be free to say that which we believe to be the truth as passed to us by Our Lord. Jesus says to us ‘Be not afraid'.

"I grew up at a time when my church was banned and persecuted in Ukraine. A church of martyrs and confessors.

"We survived this persecution because people loved God and their church. They were courageous and passed on the faith to their children and grandchildren.''

Cardinal-designate Bychok said he did not believe there was any division within the Church on the sanctity of life.

While Pope Francis told the Church to be a "listening Church'', that did not mean others did not have to listen to Christ.

Sources

• The Australian
• ABC
• The Catholic Weekly
• The Australian