Dr Bob Dixon

On 29 January 2016, the Pastoral Research Office (PRO) celebrates its 20th anniversary since the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference established it in 1996.

Initially called the Pastoral Projects Office, the focus was to carry out two major research projects: to acquire, analyse and distribute data on the Catholic population from the Australian Census to parishes, dioceses and Catholic agencies; and to coordinate the participation of the Catholic Church in the National Church Life Survey.

The first staff member of the office was Dr Robert (Bob) Dixon. Then General Secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Fr Michael McKenna, now the Bishop of Bathurst, appointed him as Project Officer to carry out research that was envisaged to take three years to complete. However, the remit of the Office increased and its role became an integral function of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. Dr Dixon, who later became the foundation Director of the Pastoral Research Office, completed a PhD while directing the Conference’s research activities.

The Pastoral Research Office has now completed twenty years of research on behalf of the Catholic Church in Australia. This year, it will be coordinating the Census project and Catholic participation in the National Church Life Survey (NCLS) for the fifth time following previous censuses and surveys in 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011.

Marking the occasion, Fr Stephen Hackett msc, General Secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said, ‘We acknowledge Dr Dixon’s excellent service to the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and to the Catholic Church in Australia over the past twenty years. We look forward to the continuing contribution of the Pastoral Research Office to the life and mission of the Church in Australia’.

Over the years, the work of the Office has expanded to become a key contributor to the work of the Church in Australia, carrying out a variety of research projects in addition to the Census and the NCLS projects.

Major studies have included Why Catholics Stop Going to Mass (2007), a survey of religious orders in Australia (2009), and the Building Stronger Parishes project (2015).

Current projects due to be completed this year include a study of recent vocations to religious life and a study of the size and make-up of the Catholic Church’s workforce in Australia.

Commenting on the occasion, Dr Dixon said, ‘The PRO’s work is recognised internationally and has resulted in many commendations for the Bishops Conference’s foresight in establishing a social research agency, one of the few in the world to do so’.

Reports of completed studies by the PRO are available on the website: www.pro.catholic.org.au.

The office also publishes a free monthly e-newsletter: Pastoral Research Online