Shane Anthony Mackinlay (born 5 June 1965) is an Australian Catholic prelate who has served as

Bishop of Sandhurst The Diocese of Sandhurst is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in Australia. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan Roman Catholic Arch ...

since 2019. He was the master of

Catholic Theological College Catholic Theological College (CTC) is one of the constituent theological colleges of the University of Divinity, an Australian collegiate university of specialisation in Divinity (academic discipline), divinity. The college is located in Eas ...

in Melbourne from 2010 to 2019.

Life and career

Shane Mackinlay was born in Brunswick, Melbourne, on 5 June 1965. He studied at Corpus Christi College and obtained a bachelor's degree in theology from the

Melbourne College of Divinity The University of Divinity is an Australian collegiate university with a specialised focus in divinity and associated disciplines. It is constituted by twelve theological colleges from seven denominations and three schools. The University of Di ...

and a degree in physics from

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

. He earned a doctorate in philosophy from the

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (; ) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) * Katholieke Universiteit Leuven or KU Leuven (1968 ...

in 2005. Mackinlay was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Ballarat on 6 September 1991. He was parish priest in Colac from 1992 to 1997 and then at the cathedral in Ballarat. In 1998 he became parish priest of Sebastopol, secretary to Bishop Peter Connors and a lecturer at the

Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome. History Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamation ...

. He served as a member of the diocese's college of consultors from 1999 to 2013. Until he was named a bishop in 2019, he served a parish in Bungaree from 2005 and another in Gordon from 2009 and headed the Advisory Council of Ballarat from 2010. He was master of the Catholic Theological College in Melbourne from 2010 until his episcopal appointment. From 2012 to 2014, during the inquiry conducted by the

Parliament of Victoria The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria that follows a Westminster System, Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the Monarchy in Australia, King, represent ...

into how the Catholic Church and other institutions had handled child abuse, Mackinlay served as spokesperson for the church. In September 2012, when the church submitted its report to the inquiry, Mackinlay said it had been difficult for the church to recognise the reality and extent of child abuse because "We had a very strong clerical culture which made it very difficult both for laypeople, for the families of these victims, for people in our schools, for people in our parishes and certainly for people in leadership and authority to accept that priests and religious

hat is, members of religious orders A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mechan ...

could do these evil things." The next year he was criticised by inquiry officials after he traced the origins of the abuse crisis to the social mores of the 1960s and 1970s and attempts to lower the age of consent. One official called his remarks disingenuous. On 23 July 2019,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

appointed Mackinlay as Bishop of Sandhurst. On 16 October 2019, he was consecrated a bishop by

Peter Comensoli Peter Andrew Comensoli (born 25 March 1964) is an Australian Catholic prelate who was named the ninth Archbishop of Melbourne on 29 June 2018. He had been serving as the third Bishop of Broken Bay in New South Wales since December 2014. F ...

, Archbishop of Melbourne, at

Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bendigo Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bendigo, is an Australian cathedral. It is the Roman Catholic cathedral church of the Diocese of Sandhurst and seat of Bishop Shane Mackinlay. The cathedral is located in the provincial city of Bendigo, Victoria. The c ...

, and installed as Bishop of Sandhurst.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackinlay, Shane 1965 births Living people Roman Catholic bishops of Sandhurst Monash University alumni KU Leuven alumni University of Divinity alumni Religious leaders from Melbourne People from Brunswick, Victoria 20th-century Australian Roman Catholic priests 21st-century Australian Roman Catholic priests Catholic University of Leuven alumni Australian Roman Catholic bishops