The death of Professor Max Charlesworth, 89, has been announced. He died at his home in North Carlton in his sleep, the father of seven children and eleven grandchildren. A philosopher by training and of a sensible centre left persuasion, he had a very distinguished academic career.
The death of Professor Max Charlesworth, 89, has been announced. He died at his home in North Carlton in his sleep, the father of seven children and eleven grandchildren. A philosopher by training and of a sensible centre left persuasion, he had a very distinguished academic career.
He was arguably the leading Catholic academic of his generation from the 1960s to the early 1990s, certainly in Victoria. He provided another Catholic view of the world, in contrast to the prevailing Santamaria view of the time. He was a favourite bête noire of News Weekly, the voice of the NCC, implicitly questioning his deep faith which he practised at St Carthage’s, Parkville. The death notice carries one of his favourite sayings from Aristotle, “The energy of the mind is the essence of life“.
Max Charlesworth was one of the founders of the interfaith movement here in Australia, being one of the two Australians to attend the inaugural conference of the World Conference of Religions and Peace in Kyoto in 1970. This has become the world’s largest interfaith organisation. His attendance led to the formation of Religions for Peace Australia. He did this at a time when interfaith was not on any political or religious agenda here in Australia except for Christian-Jewish relations.
An extension of this was his interest later in his academic career in Aboriginal spiritualities.
No funeral details have been announced.
May this good Christian man rest in peace.
Prof. Des Cahill
Chair, Religions for Peace Australia
