LEADING Catholics say decisions made at the second assembly of the Plenary Council next week – could reshape and rebuild the Church in Australia.
“We are at a moment of crisis in the Church,” Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge said, speaking to ABC Radio ahead of the meeting in Sydney from July 3-9.
“This is not a matter of spin. We have to become more and more what we are called to be – in other words a community of people in whom others see – particularly those who are struggling and those who were wounded and desperate – the face of Jesus.”
The historic meeting – the first plenary assembly since 1937, and made up of more than 270 lay people, religious, priests and bishops – will consider the future of the Australian Church still reeling from revelations of child sexual abuse, with a shortage of priests, with women unrepresented in many roles, and with rapidly falling numbers.
The latest Census figures released this week show Catholics make up 20 per cent of the population and part of a steady decline over the last decade.
“We are never going to see a shift in the trend of declining numbers of people for whom religion is significant in the census until as a Church we are willing to go to where the people are, rather than waiting for them to come to us,” Brisbane-based Canossian Sister Melissa Dwyer, said as she prepared to travel to Sydney as a plenary delegate.
The Plenary journey has been long and interrupted by pandemic.
It set in motion in 2016 by Archbishop Coleridge, now the outgoing president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.
More than 220,000 people contributed to the early Listening and Dialogue phase of the plenary council that closed in March, 2019.
It was a national consultation with Catholics sharing their stories and considering the question “What do you think God is asking of us in Australia at this time?”
At that time Brisbane archdiocese’s Plenary Council co-ordinator Eric Robinson said: “For many lay people, it is the first time they may feel that the Church is seeking their input on the future of the Catholic Church in Australia.”
“This is counter-cultural if we take into context the history of the Church in Australia (and wider world).”
Since then, the plenary council members met in October last year – to discuss, reflect and pray about the myriad issues and ideas gathered nationally. Issues were categorized into six national themes that reflected the serious challenges facing the Church in Australia today.
Final proposals were then handed to an expert drafting committee that produced the “Plenary Council Framework for Motions,” containing 30 motions that will voted on during the Second Assembly.
Unlike a synod, which is a purely consultative process, Australia’s plenary council can set binding canonical norms on any matter that doesn’t contradict the universal law of the Church – though its decisions are subject to Vatican review.
A final Plenary report is expected to be ready and sent to Rome for ratification by August.
One of the first motions for discussion deals with First Nations identity and recognition. There is a specific recommendation for the Church to heed The Uluru Statement – From the Heart.
Wuthathi and Meriam woman and a member of the plenary council, Toni Janke, said First Nations representatives on the Council had called for greater inclusion in the Church at all levels.
“But we need to move forward carefully and thoughtfully and with the upmost respect acknowledging the injustices of the past and the harm caused to so many Indigenous people, families and communities,” she said.
“How do we respectfully engage with indigenous communities? How can we bring a message of hope, freedom and liberation to Indigenous people and communities without being perceived as paternalistic, offensive or elitist, or self-righteous?
“At every point we need to be asking questions: How might we practically reach out to our Indigenous brothers and sisters, especially those who are particularly vulnerable and struggling?”
Other key motions focus on the clerical abuse crisis in Australia.
There is a call for a Church apology to survivors and their families; a commitment to respond with justice and compassion to those suffering; implement safeguarding measures and a call for all members of the church to ensure safe and respectful environments within the institution.
Other motions relate to missionary discipleship, being witnesses to the equal dignity of women and men, formation and leadership, governance, and the care of God’s creation.
A call for “enhancing the role of women in the church,” includes further conversation – both locally and with the Vatican – about ordaining women into the diaconate, more public recognition for women, and if necessary, to “remunerate more appropriately” those women who are already leading and serving in the church.
The Council could also approve a motion allowing lay people to preach.
Archbishop Coleridge concedes that reference to marginalised groups such as LGBTI+ “does appear” in the motions document but has a “pretty subdued position”.
“We have sought within the bounds of realism to accommodate all reasonable voices,” he told ABC Radio.
“And any thought that the bishops have somehow attempted to control or constrain the process I think is nonsense.
“Have we listened to all the voices as attentively as possible? Perhaps not but we’re trying to do a lot in a short space… you have to consider the range of voices in a church as large and as various as the Catholic Church.”
Sr Dwyer said it is critical that whatever motions are agreed at the Plenary Council “they must be implemented across all aspects of the Australian Church”.
“We can’t leave the decisions up to the preferences of individual Bishops,” she said.
“If the Spirit moves us during the Plenary Council to support certain motions, then these must be visible for all of Australia.”
All Masses during the second assembly will be live streamed as well as the opening session each day from July 4 to July 8.
Click here to view the livestream schedule. Access the Framework for Motions document here.
