This is an edited version of a speech given by Canberra and Goulburn archdiocese’s director of pastoral support Shawn van der Linden at a central deanery farewell for Archbishop Mark Coleridge in Canberra on April 24
BISHOP Mark, in your homily at your installation as Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn you reflected upon how the Church in Australia is passing through a time of diminishment, and how “a young Church it seems has grown old very quickly”.
“If that is the case”, you said “then perhaps the best we can manage is to circle the wagons in some self-protective manoeuvre that might delay the end a little.”
You then stated that you saw things differently … that there is something stirring in the old, seemingly barren womb of Mother Church in this land, and it’s all God’s work.
Since that homily and over these past six years, you have through word and witness, not relented in your efforts to lead us into this vision of hope and possibility for the future of the Church in Australia.
I am sure we would all agree that one of the key things that the Church needs at this time, are bishops who can inspire hope and encourage a kind of energy in the Church that is more missionary and not self-protective.
The way you have communicated this vision with us has been one of the greatest gifts of your leadership …. and of course probably one of the most powerful ways you have done this has been through your gift of preaching and teaching.
I first encountered Bishop Mark’s teaching gift when studying theology in Melbourne in the mid-’90s and was lucky enough to do two of his subjects.
I can still recall from that time that Fr Mark Coleridge would usually arrive just a tad late to the lectures (perhaps for impact, I am not sure), and bound into the lecture theatre with that characteristic energetic stride that we have come to know, open his Bible and then hold the whole room captivated for two to three hours – with no notes … just the scriptures as his guide.
You had only been our Archbishop for a few months when you stood on stage in front of more than 3500 high school students who had come from all over the archdiocese to St Edmund’s to attend the Catholic schools WYD launch.
What were those students thinking when they saw you on stage all dressed up in your bishop’s bling?
For many of them it would have been the first time they had encountered an archbishop since their Confirmation.
Any doubts about your ability to connect with those students soon vanished as you talked about your iPod and re-booting your computer … and how WYD was like re-booting your life – as Archbishop you communicated the powerful and relevant message about Jesus Christ in their young lives.
Bishop Mark has been a passionate supporter of Catholic schools. He is a familiar figure in all our schools, and has addressed principals’ events on many occasions and attended their retreats and conferences.
People have been amazed at his prodigious memory in being able to recall by name the students and staff.
So while he is able to communicate powerfully to large groups and crowds, we have also been touched by his ability to put people at ease and make them feel comfortable.
Bishop Mark has done this on a regular basis with senior school leaders, inviting them to his house for lunch conversations about faith and life.
Over the past six years, Bishop Mark, you have never held back in making yourself available to share your teaching gift with us.
Time and again, you have pulled yourself away from the significant demands of the day-to-day administration of the archdiocese, sometimes to teach for whole days at a time.
It is often said that the Catholic Church has the best product in the world, but the worst marketing department. Your gift of communicating the Gospel to contemporary culture has shown us that something else is possible.
It has been a great gift for us, and something that will be dearly missed.
Our loss is Brisbane’s gain.
Generosity
Being an archbishop today is one hell of a job. The changed context for mission in the Church makes the job of archbishop exceedingly challenging … and that’s all before we even start thinking about the particular ideological issues that a bishop needs to carefully navigate.
We also note that during your time with us you have had to deal with the sudden loss of a vicar general in Fr Joe Rheinberger in 2006, the unexpected deaths of other senior clergy, the death of your good friend and confidant Bishop Joe Grech and at an even more personal level the passing away of your own mother Marjorie in 2010.
Added to this is the reality that all bishops are called to function on three levels – local, national and international.
Both your appointment to Canberra-Goulburn and now to Brisbane reflect your stature in the Australian Church, where you continue to hold important positions in the bishops’ conference: chair of the Bishops’ Commission for Liturgy, a member of the Bishops’ Commission for Doctrine and a member of the Permanent Committee.
These formal roles accompany the informal leadership, which your brother bishops have afforded you in recognition of your many gifts and abilities.
And at an international level you have contributed significantly in key roles in relation to the new English translation of the Roman Missal, the preparation of an English-language lectionary, the Post-Synod Council on The Word of God and most recently your role on the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
Perhaps at times the reality of your role on three levels – local, national and international – is something that we in this archdiocese have struggled to fully appreciate or adapt to?
It is in this context Bishop Mark that you have generously made yourself available to the people of this archdiocese.
Far from being locked away by some kind of bureaucracy, you have been readily accessible to members of your archdiocesan leadership team and your agencies.
Your diary was always full of meetings with people from all walks of life and many would have contact with you via email, text or even Facebook, and of course your hospitality at Archbishop’s House is well known and appreciated.
Indeed, you have opened up Archbishop’s House to business people, politicians, students, young adults and everyday Catholics who had never visited it before.
I am also thinking of your amazing feats with staying connected while on archdiocesan pilgrimages.
Many of you might be aware that Bishop Mark blogged live from the Footsteps of St Paul pilgrimage in 2009, along with Archbishop Francis Carroll, Neil Harrigan and others; we believe this was a first for an Australian archbishop.
He then followed this up with regular blogging while on the Holy Land and WYD Madrid pilgrimage last year, but this time he did it all from his shiny new iPhone.
And of course you ensured that even though you were thousands of miles from Canberra, in hot, sticky and fly-ridden Toledo, Spain, you still managed to get your monthly Catholic Voice and Your Family Your Faith columns submitted on time … by typing them up, with one finger, those few thousands words on your iPhone. Now that’s commitment, and I would hazard a guess, another first for, an Australian bishop.
Your generous service as Archbishop has seen you travel to all the parishes across this large archdiocese.
As well as being available and accessible, I know that many are grateful for the pastoral approach you have had with dealing with people.
Perhaps this is one of the more hidden aspects of your ministry as our Archbishop, but for those who have worked closely with you, we have been struck by the balance you have always sought to achieve between getting the job done and taking action, while also being gentle, respectful and accommodating to the individuals involved.
Courage
Finally, Bishop Mark I would like to acknowledge your courage as our Archbishop.
Indeed you have been quite a progressive Archbishop, especially in your willingness to initiate and embrace change.
While always strongly supporting the identity of the priesthood, and doing a variety of innovative things to attract vocations, you have given tremendous support to lay leadership in the Church, employed women into the most senior lay roles in the archdiocese, established a more ecclesial way of providing archdiocesan pastoral services through the CatholicLIFE, instigated a new “mission model” approach to how some of the regions of the archdiocese are structured, and supported all kinds of new creative programs and events … not the least of which was the expansive response of this archdiocese to World Youth Day and Days in the Diocese.
Importantly in all of this you have allowed the leadership and creativity of others to grow and flourish, which is always one of the hallmarks of good leadership.
Bishop Mark, your involvement with new groups and communities extends well before your time as Archbishop here, but as Archbishop you have consistently encouraged and supported these new signs of vitality and missionary energy.
As a pastor you have not been afraid to challenge these groups to more fruitfully make their contribution to the local Church, but you have also enthusiastically welcomed their contribution to the archdiocese.
Of course Bishop Mark your openness to trying new things did not always go the way you might have expected.
I am sure there are things that in hindsight you would like to do differently.
In this regard I know that I speak for many Catholics who are so grateful for your energy and willingness to actually make decisions and have a go.
In reflecting on your courageous leadership Bishop Mark, we cannot leave unspoken your role in relation to Calvary Hospital here in Canberra.
From the outset of that saga you instinctively understood the essence of the Catholic Church’s particular role in hospital ministry.
Then, against significant opposition and some big egos, including in the local media, you strongly put forward the position that a Catholic hospital was needed for the good of the broader Canberra community.
It was perhaps a brutal affair for you and it is probably fair to say it was a turning point in terms of your public profile in Canberra.
You stuck your neck out and suffered the consequences.
However, to quote the words of Francis Sullivan “I am sure that in time the real history will be written about this and that the Archbishop will be seen to be on the side of the Angels”.
So I think it’s fair to say that the archdiocese has not “circled the wagons” over these past six years.
You have led us “out into the deep”, and that has disturbed us; it is not the most comfortable place to be.
However, it is the best place for us to be as an archdiocese if we are going to rediscover Christ, who is our saviour, and realise new ways to communicate this Good News to others.
Thank you Bishop Mark for your vision, generosity and courage over this past six years.
