ABOUT 120 leaders of Catholic and Anglican religious congregations from across Australia will meet in Perth this week to tackle evangelisation in a media-dominated world.
The Australian Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes (ACLRI) will meet for its annual assembly from June 14-18, with the theme being “Challenges for creative leadership: Jubilee people in a world of South Park and The Simpsons”.
ACLRI executive director Josephite Sister Mary Cresp said the assembly would provide opportunities for leaders to reflect on the challenges “presented by the realities of today’s post-modern world”.
“As we enter a new millennium, religious are conscious of the need to continue promoting the reign of God in society,” Sr Cresp said.
“Religious are part of the world, but the media reflects a world whose values are different from those of religious.
“These include values promoted by economic rationalism, cynicism, a lack of hope and mistrust in human goodness, as well as a sense that commitment is futile.
“These values are often portrayed in programs like The Simpsons and South Park.”
The challenge for religious leaders, therefore, was to find ways that would allow God’s message to be heard in today’s media-dominated world.
