The Fifth Plenary Council took a long time to prepare for and organise. The first ideas about a Plenary Council for Australia go back to a time even before Francis was elected pope. The proposals for a Plenary Council not just survived but were made stronger by the storm of the Royal Commission on the scandal of abuse in the Church. It took much of the energy of the then-president of the Australian Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Mark Coleridge, to overcome the resistance and opposition and announce the Plenary Council in 2018. After a long process of preparation in the local churches, the first assembly occurred on 3-10 October 2021.

The Council is now over, and it has been said that it will take much time for changes to be felt. Some have lamented that significant change is unlikely to occur. There has also been much said about the crisis that occurred on 6 July over the deliberative vote on “Part 4: Witnessing to the Equal Dignity of Women and Men”.

The motion failed because it was not supported by the required two-thirds majority of the bishops. It was an immensely painful moment and caused severe reactions from women in the Church, including Sr Joan Chittister, Benedictine Sister from the USA. She stated when interviewed, “The proof is in. You needn’t wear yourself out trying to convince women that the church really appreciates them, their work, their presence, their talents. They know now – right out of the mouth of the episcopacy that voted against them.”

Participants at the Council have noted that the response in the room to the bishops’ rejection was immediate; it was just before morning teatime, and the vote occasioned deep grief, consternation and tears. It was a rare example of lay-led “insurgency”. Bishop Mackinlay, the Deputy President of the Plenary Council, saw that the program could not continue as it was. After morning tea, 60 or so people (mostly women, two bishops, some priests and lay men) stood at the back of the hall as a form of protest.

Bishop Mackinlay announced that the program would be revised and that there would be further discussion of Part 4. He said the bishops would meet with the Steering Committee over lunch to discuss a way forward. Part 4 of the document was then revised by a new drafting team with a minor revision, without using the language of “complementarity”. It was re-introduced to the assembly on Friday and gained very strong support.

So while a more positive result eventuated, one must ask what exactly will change?

Louise Barry - Religious Studies Coordinator