David Louis Walker (born 13 November 1938) is a retired

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He was ordained bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay on 3 September 1996, succeeding the diocese's inaugural bishop, the Most Reverend Patrick Murphy. His retirement was effective from 13 November 2013, his seventy-fifth birthday.

Early years

David Louis Walker spent his childhood in the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

suburb of Clovelly until he began seminary training in 1956. His early years in the priesthood were spent teaching theology at St Patrick's College, Manly and at the

Catholic Theological Faculty of Sydney The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Walker was director of the

Educational Centre for Christian Spirituality Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...

which he established in Randwick in 1978 until his appointment as bishop.

Views

Although he has stated that when he was ordained bishop he was a "centrist", Walker is regarded by many Australian Catholics as a progressive bishop owing to his support for lay ministries, laicised priests and "socially progressive" attitudes. He attributes his perceived shift to the left as a consequence of the shift of the

Australian Episcopal Conference Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal ...

to the right. He maintains that he has remained in the centre. He has been quoted as saying "when I was made Bishop, I was perceived as being in the centre of ecclesiastical politics. Ten years later I am perceived as being on the left. My views haven't changed."

Activities

Walker is involved in the cause for the beatification of

Eileen O'Connor Eileen ( or ) is an Irish feminine given name anglicised from Eibhlín and may refer to: People Artists * Eileen Agar (1899–1991), British Surrealist painter and photographer *Eileen Fisher (born 1950), clothing retailer and designer * Eilee ...

, the co-founder of Our Lady's Nurses for the Poor (the

Brown Nurses Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model ...

). Walker is a speaker and has published on faith renewal, spirituality, mysticism, formation of clergy and church leadership. He is a former member of the Ecumenical Commission of the Archdiocese of Sydney, the New South Wales Ecumenical Council, the Australian Catholic Theological Association and the Committee for the Continuing Education of the Clergy. He was a board member of the ''Australasian Catholic Record'' and a former consultant to the National Council of Churches.

External links

Diocese of Broken Bay website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, David Living people Roman Catholic bishops of Broken Bay Clergy from Sydney 1938 births 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Australia 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Australia