18 Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst Year in Review 2020 LEADERSHIP & STRUCTURE Plenary 2020 Continuing the Journey The COVID-19 restrictions of 2020 created a set of challenges for the Sandhurst Plenary Council Committee. The postponement of the first National Assembly originally scheduled for October 2021, combined with restrictions on Mass and gatherings, threatened the enthusiasm and traction on preparation for the Plenary Council. Nevertheless, Chair of the Sandhurst Plenary Council Committee (SPCC), Fr Brian Boyle EV said there was also an up-side to the restrictions and delay which led to an extended period of Phase 2, the Listening and Discernment phase of plenary preparations, describing it as “a graced opportunity.” The SPCC prepared and implemented a strategy focusing on deepening practices of discernment to “keep the Plenary Spirit alive.” This included live-streamed Zoom sessions, each focusing on one of the six thematic papers prepared by the National Plenary Committee, from the concerns which had emerged from the consultation of Catholics across the country in Phase 1. Phase 1: Listening and Dialogue was launched on Pentecost Sunday (May 2018) and closed on Ash Wednesday (March 2019). The final (national) report for Phase 1 was released by the National Centre for Pastoral Research (NCPR) in July 2019. Nationally, some 15,000 participants made 17,457 submissions. The report listed six themes derived from the key issues raised by participants in their submissions. These six themes formed the basis for further listening and discernment in Phase 2. In November 2019, the NCPR released the Phase 1 Final Report for the Diocese of Sandhurst. This report analysed the 305 Sandhurst responses and included anecdotal quotes from submissions. There were 102 group submissions representing 4082 individuals, many of them high school students. There were 203 individual submissions, 57% of them from women, and the bulk of them from people over the age of 55. Using data from the NCPR’s Sandhurst Report, Fr Brian Boyle and Sandhurst Plenary member, Ms Ruth Lawlor wrote, “Please Change: What Sandhurst Catholics said about Plenary Council Phase 1: Listening and Dialogue.” They wrote, “The title was taken from one of the submissions in the Sandhurst Report. The title, we believe, picks up well the emotion many respondents indicated in their submission, namely a love for the Church on the one hand and a sincere desire, indeed the necessity, for the Church to change on the other hand. Many of the submissions in the Report reflect wisdom, passion, commitment and hope for change while, at the same time, acknowledging this may well be the last opportunity for that change in the Australian Catholic Church.” Catholics in Australia are keeping their faith in an increasingly secularised nation, in which scandals and stagnation have broken hearts and crumbled faith in the institution of the Church itself. The Plenary Council provides us with an opportunity to listen, to be heard, to pray and reflect; and to focus on the core values of our Catholic faith as we work together towards a better Church and better future. The Plenary Council is the highest level of gathering in the Church in Australia. Resolutions made at the Assemblies proceed to Rome for either adjustment, approval or rejection. This is why the Bishops of Australia and others have been calling for the Plenary sessions to be guided and filled with prayer with Christ at the centre. They need to be nourishing spiritual experiences for us to discern and create a pathway forward. On 24 March, the Sandhurst Plenary delegates were announced: Bishop Shane Mackinlay Fr Joe Taylor PP, Vicar-General Fr Brian Boyle, EV, Episcopal Vicar for Education Ms Cathy Jenkins, Catholic Education Sandhurst Ms Ruth Lawlor, Sandhurst Youth Ministry The three clerics will attend by virtue of office, while Ms Jenkins and Ms Lawlor were appointed by a nomination and selection process. On 21 May, the National Plenary Committee released a new logo, which included the words “Continuing the Journey” and announced new dates for the national Assemblies; Adelaide in October 2021 and Sydney in April 2022. On Pentecost Sunday (31 May 2020), Thematic Papers, based on the reports of the Listening and Dialogue phase, were released. These papers formed the basis of the Listening and Discernment phase (Phase 2) of the plenary process. How is God Calling us to be a Christ-centred Church in Australia that is : Missionary and Evangelising? Inclusive Participatory and Synodal? Prayerful and Eucharistic? Humble, Healing and Merciful? A Joyful, Hope-filled and Servant Community? Open to Conversion, Renewal and Reform? In November and December, three Reflection Sessions were held online: “Discerning the Way to the Plenary Council” facilitated by Cathy Jenkins. “Inclusive, Participatory and Synodal” facilitated by Ruth Lawlor. “Humble, Healing and Merciful” facilitated by Lyn Breen.
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