The Southern Cross | September 2024

When he’s not travelling the world researching the history and culture of Christianity, Fr Michael Trainor’s focus is firmly on the future.

As an advocate of education, interfaith dialogue, the importance of empathy and contemporising the Catholic faith to meet the needs of the modern world, he doesn’t shy away from frank conversation.

“I don’t advertise the fact that I’m a priest,” said Fr Michael, parish priest of Lockleys and senior lecturer in biblical studies at ACU’s National School of Theology.

“People in the parish know it and when I’m visiting a family at a hospital around someone’s death bed, I wear a cross because in this context, it’s important they know.”

When frequenting his gliding club or the local gym and swim centre, however, people wouldn’t necessarily know his background.

“I think it’s important they meet me on my own terms and not with preconceptions,” he said. “When they do find out I’m a priest, it’s a very changed relationship. I want it to be based on friendship rather than a hierarchy.”

During 50 years of priesthood, there’s been a lot of time for deep thinking.

“We are coming out of a Church where the primary sacrament has been ordination,” he said.

“The priest has been the focal point of everything, whereas for authentic Catholic theology, the primary sacrament is baptism. That’s what makes us brothers and sisters.

“Ordination is a specification of the call of baptism, rather than baptism coming out of being ordained. For many Catholics, the ‘pray, pay and obey’ attitude puts the priest at the centre of everything, whereas baptism is the common gift of all of us.”

Michael believes humanity brings us into communion, no matter our background.

“When I’m writing up the front page of our Lockleys parish bulletin, I always sign it off as ‘your brother’, not as ‘your father’, addressing them as ‘dear sisters and brothers’.”
Some parishioners resist this approach.

“They’ll say, ‘I want to call your Father because that’s what you deserve, you’re entitled to that and it’s a way of honouring who you are’.

“I say, ‘I was called “Michael” by my parents and that’s what I was baptised as. That’s my primary name, so I would like you to call me by my baptismal name, not by a title. It’s a whole change of perspective.”

Michael has experienced many a profound moment since his ordination in 1974 at the age of 23.

You could say it was in his blood. Born in Tailem Bend and raised in a housing trust home in Mansfield Park, Michael went to primary school at St Philomena’s in Woodville Gardens, secondary school at Marist Brothers, Alberton, and studied his final years of high school at St Michael’s College. From there, he went to the seminary.

“What led me to the seminary? A desire to be of service to the Catholic community,” Michael said.

“My uncle was a priest and Archbishop James Gleeson was my second cousin. In fact, he eventually ordained me as a priest.”

Michael’s parents were formative in his journey, particularly his mum.

“I think the mother is a major influence in every priest’s life,” he said.

“I needed to make sure that this was my calling, not my mother’s calling so just before being ordained I said, ‘Mum, how would you feel if I decided to leave the seminary?’ Mum said, ‘I’d be disappointed, but this is your life’.”

Decision made, he leapt toward a life full of reflection, adventure and learning.

“I always had a predilection for study and for biblical study, so after seven years of formation at Rostrevor (seminary) and five years of pastoral care in a parish, the Archbishop permitted me to go overseas to do further study.”

Michael buried himself in books and culture in Israel, Boston and Chicago, studying a Masters in Biblical Literature and Languages.

“I’ve worked with some of the best biblical educators in the English-speaking world. I’ve always felt very privileged by that.”

On his return to Adelaide, he embarked on part-time parish work for the Catholic Adult Education Service (known as “CAES”) and was a member of the Theology Institute faculty. He also has a Master in Education from Boston and completed a Doctorate with what is now the University of Divinity in Melbourne.

He came back to Adelaide and coordinated adult education for the diocese. He also taught Biblical Studies with Flinders University.

“Here in Adelaide, we formed an amazing consortium of theological schools with the Anglicans, the Uniting Church and ourselves; called the Adelaide College of Divinity,” he said.

“A very strong theme in my ministry has been the renewal of the local Church in the light of change. There’s a lot of misunderstanding about what Catholicism is about and unfortunately, very conservative ways of Catholicism being expressed. My passion has been to try to contemporise theology and biblical understanding.”

Michael isn’t afraid to challenge convention. You could even say he’s a feminist.

“When I was studying in Jerusalem, I was exposed to feminist theology; the recognition that theology explanation has been dominated by males,” he said.

“I read up on what is called ‘feminist hermeneutics’, an understanding that the voice of women in the biblical text is silent because it is dominated by male authors. While studying in Jerusalem, I remember looking down on to the Western Wall as I reflected on this challenge that feminist writing was bringing to me. I thought, ‘It can’t be right, it can’t be right’.”
In that moment, Michael said he was being invited to change.

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