Listen to What The Spirit is Saying: Plenary Council 2021
Last week, over the six days of 3-10 October, the First General Assembly of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia was held virtually. This assembly involved the meeting of 278 designated members from across Australia - including bishops, priests, religious and lay people - to pray and reflect about the future and the role and relevance of the Catholic Church in Australian society today. The event was originally planned for Adelaide in October 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was postponed to this year and will be followed by a Second Assembly in Sydney in July 2022.
The topics and issues discussed at the Assembly were chosen for the agenda after a three year process that involved the meeting and sharing of perspectives at the parish and local community level. Such items included: conversion, prayer, formation, governance, structures and institutions, which, to be effective, the Agenda says, must be guided by "a renewed missionary spirit". It is the first time since 1937 that the Australian Catholic Church has considered its future and place in society. Australia has changed a lot since that time and has certainly become more diverse in terms of culture due to migration but also in relation to different spiritualities and theologies influenced by a variance in life experiences. Broader Australian society has also progressed in various aspects including the role of women, that seem at odds with the traditional Church.
When Sr Patty Fawkner SGS, the Congregational Leader of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, was interviewed after the conclusion of the Assembly, she commented on what she had taken from the meetings held last week. She stated that she had found the diversity of rites to be enriching, with the involvement of the Eastern Rites of Catholicism in Australia. Sr Faulkner also discussed the other ways in which the group that met was extremely diverse and hence there were a variety of viewpoints expressed and listened to. She did say that much ongoing reflection will be needed before the gathering of the Second Assembly.
A central belief that influences this process of reflection is that of a trinitarian God. Catholics believe in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit as one creator God that remains present in the lives of adherents. Through the Holy Spirit, we believe that God speaks to us and that we must listen to what God wants for us and the future of our Church, country, and planet more broadly. Catholics have faith that through a process of “discernment” God’s plan will be achieved and that Jesus is with us to guide our role in bringing about the Kingdom of God.
Louise East - Religious Studies Coordinator