From the 3 to 9 July the Catholic Church in Australia gathered for the Second Assembly of the Plenary Council.
Through the Plenary Council the Australian Catholic Church has been exploring what the future of our Church could look like, as the culture in which we proclaim the Gospel changes.
From the 3 to 9 July the Catholic Church in Australia gathered for the Second Assembly of the Plenary Council.
Through the Plenary Council the Australian Catholic Church has been exploring what the future of our Church could look like, as the culture in which we proclaim the Gospel changes.
In October 2021, the Catholic Church in Australia gathered for the first assembly of the Plenary Council to be held since the second Vatican Council.
Through the Plenary Council, the Australian Catholic Church will explore what the future of our Church should look like, as the culture in which we proclaim the Gospel changes.
We all have a role to play in the future of our Church.
Find yours.
In October 2021, the Catholic Church in Australia gathered for the first assembly of the Plenary Council to be held since the second Vatican Council.
Through the Plenary Council, the Australian Catholic Church will explore what the future of our Church should look like, as the culture in which we proclaim the Gospel changes.
We all have a role to play in the future of our Church.
Find yours.
In October 2021, the Catholic Church in Australia will gather for the first Assembly of the Plenary Council to be held since the second Vatican Council.
Through the Plenary Council, the Australian Catholic Church will explore what the future of our Church should look like, as the culture in which we proclaim the Gospel changes.
We all have a role to play in the future of our Church.
Find yours.
Plenary Council Questions and Answers
Here are some answers to questions you may have. There are more questions and answers on the Plenary Council website as well.
Our Australian culture has changed significantly since the last Plenary Council in 1937. The position of the Church in Australian society has changed in that time as well. The significant impact of the Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse requires consideration and response. In addition, Pope Francis has invited us to dialogue about our future as a Church in Australia.
Archbishop Coleridge has also written this article explaining the reason for, and the journey leading up to the Plenary Council.
The Plenary Council is taking place over different stages, to involve as many voices as possible, within a workable process. You can find summary of the process here.
The Listening and Dialogue stage in 2019 involved discussion and feedback from our parish community. You can find the results of that stage here.
Over 220,000 responses and 17,457 submissions were received.
From there the responses were formulated into writing papers that captured the views of the responses. You can find these papers here.
A working document, the Instrumentum Laboris was developed and released in early 2021, articulating the major issues that would be discussed by members from each diocese in Australia at two meetings.
In October 2021 the Members discussed the Agenda questions at the first assembly.
Each diocese nominated lay members, in addition to sending specific clerical roles, such as bishops and vicars-general who are required to be there according to Church law.
There were approximately 280 members at the first assembly. You can find the full list of members here. There will also be subject matter experts and observers in attendance at the assemblies of the Plenary Council.
After all the discussion has taken place, the bishops of each diocese will decide on the final recommendations to take to Pope Francis.
The Members from the Diocese of Parramatta are:
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Most Rev Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv, Bishop of Parramatta
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Very Rev Chris de Souza VG EV PP, Vicar General and Episcopal Vicar for Education and Formation
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Very Rev Peter G Williams VG, Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia
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Very Rev Luis Fernando Montano Rodriguez EV PP, Episcopal Vicar for Social Welfare
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Very Rev Peter Blayney EV PP, Episcopal Vicar for Migrant Chaplaincies and Pastoral Associates, Episcopal Vicar for Canonical Matters
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Very Rev Wim Hoekstra EV PP, Episcopal Vicar for Clergy
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Very Rev John Hogan, Rector, Holy Spirit Seminary
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Mrs Wendy Alison Goonan, Parish of Baulkham Hills
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Ms Carol Louise Teodori-Blahut, Our Lady of the Nativity Parish, Lawson
Find out more about the Members from the Diocese of Parramatta here
The process of the Plenary Council revolves around listening to the Holy Spirit. It is a process of discernment which involves praying, reflecting, sharing, listening, thinking nationally and locally, and responding.
You can find more about the discernment process here.
Members will engage in small groups in spiritual conversations. Find out more about these here.
The Diocese of Parramatta is committed to the process of discernment and listening guided by the Holy Spirit. Our Diocesan prayer, developed by the two lay members of the Plenary Council, focuses our thoughts on that process and asks for the Holy Spirit to give us energy and courage to move our Church in the direction it needs to go.
We had such a strong response to the discernment process in 2019, we want our parishioners to continue to support the process through prayer.
You can find the Diocese of Parramatta Plenary Council prayer here.
There is also a national prayer for the Plenary Council you are also encouraged to pray. You can find the national prayer here.
Each diocese had a specific report written about their parishioners’ feedback in 2019. You can find the report for the Diocese of Parramatta feedback here.
You can still provide feedback on it to our Members from the Diocese of Parramatta. Read the Agenda and send your feedback to comms@parracatholic.org so it can be passed onto them.
Our Diocesan Pastoral Council also worked with our Deanery Pastoral Councils to co-ordinate feedback to the Agenda questions from the Diocese of Parramatta. You can see the feedback here.
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Find out more!
The National Plenary Council website has a range of videos and other resources.
Follow the Diocese of Parramatta social media channels and Catholic Outlook for further updates from our Diocese.