23/09/2020
Dear Sisters and Brothers of the St Ignatius Community,
Reconnecting with the Plenary Council Sixth Week
How is God calling us to be a Christ-centred Church in Australia that is a Missionary and Evangelising?
This week our focus is on the matters raised in submissions to the Listening and Dialogue (first phase) and the discernment of priority actions (second stage) about our need to be a Christ-centred church that is missionary and evangelising.
Listening to the voices of Australian Catholics
The authors of this paper focus on the hopes and concerns expressed in the submissions. These concerns include
· women who bring their gifts to our communities but yearn for greater agency and leadership in the ecclesial community
· Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who hunger for a listening Church in which they have a greater respect and participation at all levels
· New migrants who may need assistance to participate more fully in governance and decision -making in the ecclesial community.
· those who do not feel welcome at the table because of personal choices, sexual orientation, remarriage outside the Church, patriarchy and clericalist attitudes
· those who attend Catholic schools who experience religious education but do not engage with a Church community.
· those who attend public schools who have limited access to religious education unless they attend a parish Sunday school.
Those who listened to these voices said, “We heard sadness and struggle, but also hope and belief in new possibilities.”
Pastoral Reality
The discernment paper notes the following features of the Australian Catholic Church:
· The trend in Australia is clearly decreasing religious affiliation especially among the younger members of our nation and baby boomers whose children have left home.
· The Australian Catholic community has experienced a decline in vocations to priesthood, religious life and marriage.
· The pastoral reality of Catholic communities is varied with increasing numbers of priests from other cultural contexts and many rural parishes with limited access to the Eucharist and to community gatherings.
· Many see preaching as in need of renewal in ways that enhance openness to conversion, education about our beliefs and formation for Christian living.
· lay ecclesial and pastoral ministries have given new vitality to evangelisation, pastoral care and outreach
· inadequate formation causes many Catholics to struggle to be missionary and evangelising.
· more needs to be done to ensure that the standards and procedures being developed to address clerical sexual abuse
· Education and financial pressures often lead to delays in relational commitment and many young people seeing Church teaching on sexuality as no longer relevant
· emerging initiatives in the Catholic community are exploring more missionary approaches focused on parishes, Catholic schools, religious life and practice, effective proclamation, digital mission and lived witness to the Gospel.
Theological Vision
Mission comes from the nature of the Trinity as a community of persons in a relationship of love and communion which overflows in creation and redemption. To participate in God’s mission is to participate in the movement of God’s love for people and the planet, since God is the source of love.
Mission flows from the witness, life and worship of the Christian community and the ways in which community includes those most in need.
The Church is a sign and sacrament and is grateful for the Mystery revealed to her. However, God’s mission goes beyond the Church which is why we must be open, listening and learning, acknowledging that Kingdom work done by others. We are called to engage in respectful dialogue with one another mindful that that the Spirit blows where the Spirit wills.
Prioritised Questions and Proposals for Change
1. How can the Church be missionary and evangelising by showing responsibility for the environment and our common home?
In these times of more frequent and intense climate-related events the Church must listen to and learn from scientists, environmentalists, First Nations peoples and others who seek to live in sustainable harmony with our environment.
It is proposed that
· the Church in Australia draw on Laudato Si, Querida Amazonia and other relevant documents to provide inspiration and encouragement for developing sustainable ecological strategies adapted to our lands and climate conditions.
· the Church increase funding to Catholic Earthcare Australia to realise and further develop its mandate through the activities of education, research and advocacy
· a representative of Australia’s First Nations peoples be appointed to Catholic Earthcare Australia.
2. How can the Church be missionary and evangelising through the service of all humankind?
it is proposed that
· the Catholic Church collaborate with other faith traditions and organisations on pressing social issues standing in solidarity with people who are poor and marginalised.
· the Church work with media professionals to more effectively promote and celebrate the work of Catholic services, while strengthening them to further develop their agency of mission and evaluation.
3. How can the Catholic Church best educate and form Catholics to grow in respect, understanding and collaboration with other religions?
It is proposed that
· every diocese in Australia have an interfaith commission and that these commissions exchange and promote interfaith programs and resources
· all students studying for church ministry are exposed to Jewish-Christian and Christian- Muslim relations as part of studies on interreligious dialogue.
· the church in Australia celebrate the UN-established Interfaith Harmony Week in the first week of February with a Mass for Interfaith Harmony
4. How can the Church work more closely with other Christian Churches in order to be more missionary and evangelising?
It is proposed that Catholic dioceses establish covenants of faith and collaboration with other Christian communities.
5. Where does evangelisation sit as a focus for the Church in Australia?
It is proposed that
· the Church in Australia prioritise formation for mission using the resources of existing institutes
· the Church establish short annual programs for priests and deacons to enhance their preaching to better relate the Gospel to people’s lives.
· an annual conference held with parish representatives to encourage each parish to take on a more missionary and evangelising approach
· the Church further investigate and expand its use of digital media for mission
· dioceses and parishes develop vision and mission statements that are regularly reviewed and which assist the development of mission strategies.
· the Church conduct an audit of effective parish renewal activities and programs and promote them.
6. Given the importance of the family for missionary and evangelising activity of the Church, how can we best promote a Catholic vision of marriage and family?
It is proposed that
· a culture of the family be promoted which provides formation and practical assistance in their role as faith formators for their children.
· married couple ministries be activated as part of parish revitalisation
· a marriage catechumenate be activated nationwide
· that peer support networks be established to learn from and accompany families in diverse situations, including single parent, blended, mixed-faith and inter-ethnic families and families impacted by addiction, family violence or sexual abuse.
· the Church actively promote ministries that encourage and form fathers to share responsibility with mothers for spiritual leadership
· fertility services be expanded to train and accompany couples to live their marriage open to life, including those faced with infertility or complex health and social situations.
7. How can the Church actively promote the missionary and evangelising role of women in the Church, ensuring a better balance of men and women in leadership?
It is proposed that
· the formation of lay leaders, both women and men, be prioritised
· gender balance in diocesan Synods and parish Councils
· dioceses, parishes and Church organisations promote qualified lay women and men to exercise their gifts in church settings, including preaching in the liturgical context
· the Office for the Participation of Women be reinstated and there be greater consultation with women about their engagement in Church leadership.
· the Church continue to examine the possibility of a female diaconate.
8. How can the Catholic Church in Australia authentically embrace and nurture the culture and spirituality of First Nations peoples?
It is proposed that
· the clergy, parish volunteers, staff and leaders across all Catholic institutions undergo cultural competency training
· the Church make a statement recognising the important place of First Nations peoples and commit to further embedding their spirituality in the life of the Church
· National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC) Acknowledgement Plaques be installed in all churches and schools
· NATSICC, in partnership with National Liturgical Commission, lead the incorporation of aspects of First Nations peoples’ spirituality into liturgical celebrations.
9. How do we best support the growth in faith and in relationship with Jesus among young people?
Pope Francis has said, “Young people need to be approached with the grammar of love, not by preached at.”
It is proposed that
· the Church conduct an audit of all initiatives in youth ministry and evangelisation and support the development of missionary teams of peers to work across parishes and schools
· the Church continues to research the effect of initiatives such as youth festivals to animate the missionary spirit of young people
· the Plenary Council delegates hear testimony from young people who have benefitted from participating in various youth movements.
10. How can our educational institutions best serve the missionary and evangelising activity of the Church?
It is proposed that
· the Church and its educational organisations consider further opportunities for enhancing the preferential option for the poor.
· the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) work with state and territory jurisdictions and dioceses to ensure mission and evangelisation remain a constant focus in Catholic schools.
· The NCEC’s Faith Formation and Religious Education Standing Committee be empowered to provide leadership formation for senior school leaders
· the Church acknowledge and respond to the needs of Catholic children in public schools by providing adequate specialist resources.
· the Church encourage Catholic adults to undertake tertiary and other courses in theology and faith development.
· seminarians be encouraged to spend concentrated time in schools as part of their formation and missionary outreach.
11. How can we as a Church most effectively reach out to people from all walks of life, particularly those who might feel distant from the life of the Church?
It is proposed that
· all Church communications only use language that upholds and promotes people’s inherent dignity as human persons.
· dioceses and parishes establish appropriately resourced listening sessions to hear the needs of people who are: divorced and remarried, survivors of sexual abuse, LGBTI people, and individuals or groups who feel disenfranchised.
The renewal of our world, our Church and our lives begins with a deep listening to the presence of God’s spirit in our Australian context. It asks us to read the signs of the times and invites us to prayerful discernment. Empowered by the promise of God’s enduring faithfulness…we go forward as ‘missionary disciples’ of Jesus bearing witness in word and deed to all people in our world.
Angela Hazebroek
Plenary Council Co-ordinator
St Ignatius Parish
