From Bishop Shane Mackinlay

In early February, I was one of seven bishops ordained in the past couple of years who gathered in Canberra for a four-day seminar to assist us as we settle into this new ministry.

The seminar included introductions from various Catholic agencies, a visit to the Apostolic Nunciature, and reflections from four experienced Australian bishops about various aspects of their ministry. We were particularly grateful for the four bishops who made time to travel to Canberra and share their experience with us, not only during their allocated session, but participating in other parts of the seminar and joining us for dinner.

The bishops who participated in the seminar were each ordained between October 2019 and December 2021: Bishop Martin Ashe, Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne; Bishop Greg Bennet, Bishop of Sale; Bishop Mykola Bychok CSsR, Bishop of Saints Peter and Paul of Melbourne; Bishop Anthony Ireland, Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne; Bishop Karol Kulczycki SDS, Bishop of Port Pirie; Bishop Shane Mackinlay, Bishop of Sandhurst; Bishop Danny Meagher, Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney.

Sessions during the four-day gathering covered topics such as pastoral governance and supervision, professional standards and safeguarding, canon law, synodality and media engagement.

Most of us had met one another before, but our only real chance for conversations since our ordinations had been on-screen. Spending an extended period of time together gave us a chance to compare our various experiences in different aspects of this ministry and to strengthen our relationships and support for one another. The opportunity was very much appreciated by all of us and provided me with great encouragement for my continuing journey as bishop.

Bishops at the Bishops' Seminary listening to  a video message from the new Apostolic Nuncio, who was speaking from his current appointment in Prague.