Background
Goldsworthy was born and raised in Melbourne where she studied theology at Trinity College from 1980 to 1983.
Goldsworthy was born and raised in Melbourne where she studied theology at Trinity College from 1980 to 1983.
In 1992 she was ordained as one of a group of Australia"s first female priests by the then archbishop, Peter Carnley. She served as rector of Street David"s parish, Applecross from 1995 to 2006. During this time she was appointed a canon of Street George"s Cathedral and subsequently Archdeacon of Fremantle.
In 2007 she was appointed Archdeacon of Perth and the registrar of the Diocese of Perth.
In April 2008, Goldsworthy was chosen to become an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Perth by the archbishop, Roger Herft. In 2013 she became the first woman already consecrated as a bishop, and the second Anglican woman, to be on a nomination list for election as a diocesan bishop in Australia (the Bishop of Newcastle election being the first).
On 11 December 2014 she was elected to become the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Gippsland and was installed on 21 March 2015. Women have served as Anglican bishops in a number of countries, including the United States, Canada and New Zealand, since 1989.
In September 2007, the Australian church"s appellate tribunal ruled that there was no constitutional impediment to women becoming bishops, but agreed to defer any appointments until 2008.
The report of the appellate tribunal considered the following questions:
A subsequent bishops" conference, in Newcastle, New South Wales, in April 2008, cleared the way for the first consecration of a woman as a bishop in Australia. Goldsworthy"s appointment was opposed on conscientious grounds from some sections of the church, particularly in the Diocese of Sydney led by its then archbishop, Peter Jensen. The Sydney diocese indicated that if Goldsworthy visited in an official capacity she would be unable to perform any duties as a bishop and could only act as a deacon.
I think it"s novel, I think it"s provocative, I think it"s divisive and the archbishop knows all of that.".
