ACU theologians among top women

Two ACU theologians have made the list of the top women working in their field.

The list of 20 Australian and New Zealander Female Theologians You Should Get to Know in 2021 was compiled by Graham Joseph Hill, founder of The Global Church Project, and Jen Barker, founder of the website Fixing Her Eyes.

The list named Dr Gemma Cruz and Dr Maeve Louise Heaney as two of the top female theologians working in their field.

Dr Cruz is a senior lecturer within the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy and the coordinator of the research project ‘Mission and Evangelisation in the Context of Migration: Asian Perspectives’, which is funded by the Centro Internazionale di Animazione Missionaria (CIAM), a centre in the Vatican.

The list noted the importance of her work on migration theology, in particular her book Toward a Theology of Migration: Social Justice and Religious Experience. It also cited her work on research in missiology, liberationist theologies, Asian theologies, and theologies engaged with themes related to women and gender.

Dr Maeve Louise Heaney is Director of the Xavier Centre for Theological Formation at ACU and is also a senior lecturer within the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy. She is a consecrated missionary of the Verbum Dei Community.

The list cited her work on systemic theology and music, in particular her book Music as Theology: What Music Says about the Word.

Professor Dermot Nestor, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy, congratulated both Dr Cruz and Dr Heaney and acknowledged the quality of the research they are undertaking but also the degree to which that research informs curriculum initiatives such as the Leadership for Mission program and the impact of both upon the wider community.