Anthony Fisher

Anthony Colin Fisher OP (born 10 March 1960) is an Australian prelate of the Catholic Church and a friar of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans).

Fisher was born the eldest of five children in Crows Nest, Sydney, to Gloria Maguregui, whose father was of Spanish Basque origin and whose mother was half Italian and half Romanian – she migrated with her family to Australia from Asia in the 1950s – and Colin Fisher, a pharmacist from Ashfield with Anglo-Irish roots.

[1] He worked for a time at Uniya, a centre for social research in Kings Cross, on immigration and refugee issues, and at Holy Name Parish in Wahroonga, Sydney.

He was ordained to the priesthood at Holy Name Church in Wahroonga by Eusebius Crawford OP, Bishop of Gizo, on 14 September 1991.

He is ex officio chancellor of the Catholic Institute of Sydney (having previously served as the deputy-chancellor) and adjunct professor of bioethics at the University of Notre Dame Australia.

[13] Under his episcopate, Fisher continued as chair of the Catholic Education Commission of New South Wales and adjunct professor in theology at the University of Notre Dame Australia.

[15] Following a significant increase in vocations to the priesthood in the Diocese of Parramatta, he directed the building of the new Seminary of the Holy Spirit at Harris Park.

[20] On 13 August 2015, Fisher debated moral philosopher Peter Singer at the Sydney Town Hall about the legalisation of euthanasia.

[21] The debate was organised by the Sydney University Catholic Society and adjudicated by the ABC's Editor of Religion and Ethics, Scott Stephens.

[27] In July 2008, when asked at a World Youth Day press conference about an alleged case of clerical sexual abuse in Melbourne years earlier, Fisher said: "Happily, I think most of Australia was enjoying delighting in the beauty and goodness of these young people and the hope — the hope for us doing these sorts of things better in the future — as we saw last night [at World Youth Day], rather than, than dwelling crankily, as a few people are doing, on old wounds."

"[11] He stated that the "Church in Australia is going through a period of public scrutiny and self-examination" and expressed his hope that it "will emerge from this purified, humbler, more compassionate and spiritually regenerated".

[11][32] He lamented the institutionalised child sexual abuse that occurred historically in his former Diocese of Parramatta and took the opportunity to apologise for what he acknowledged as the Church's failure to properly assist victims.

[33] Speaking of previous abuse cases, he reiterated his desire for openness and change saying, "We want to make sure every child is safe and cherished going forward.

[36] In the campaign cycle leading up to the 2016 federal elections, Fisher condemned the policies of the Australian Greens describing them as "nasty" and contravening "basic moral standards", specifically calling out their policies regarding same-sex marriage, removing religious "exemptions" in anti-discrimination laws and their support of the Safe Schools Programme.

[43] In March 2017, Fisher stated that businesses such as Qantas and Telstra should not sponsor Pride events aimed at supporting LGBT staff or encouraging non-discrimination, nor lobby in favour of the legalisation of same-sex marriage.

[48] He also wrote a letter to all parents of children in Catholic schools across New South Wales to advise them to vote no to a change in the law.

[49] Same-sex marriage was subsequently introduced to Australia by an act of federal parliament in December 2017 following widespread support in a national postal survey.

[53][54] In response, Fisher welcomed the Government's decision to adopt a needs-based funding model but decried its falling short of what Gonski recommended in his original report.

Fisher in 1994
Fisher debating Philip Nitschke at Sydney University, 2003