12 Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst Year in Review 2022 The Second Assembly of the 5th Plenary Council of the Catholic Church in Australia was held in the first week of July. The five Sandhurst members, Bishop Shane, Fr Joe Taylor VG, Fr Brian Boyle EV, Cathy Jenkins and Ruth Lawlor travelled to Sydney to celebrate an extraordinary event in the life of the Australian Church. Audrey Brown (Cathedral Cluster of Parishes Bendigo) and I were privileged to be on the facilitation team for the week. Our members provided video updates each day which Katrina Strong published to our social media networks. These messages provided an important perspective from the floor of the Assembly. I encourage everyone to read the Decrees of the Council which are available on the Plenary Council website. Whilst some require Vatican approval, many of the Decrees are the kinds of things that dioceses, parishes and other Catholic entities can do or are doing already. Our Pastoral Associates and Lay Coordinators Network met face to face on three occasions in 2022. This included a timely retreat led by Fr Dennis Crameri along the banks of the Mitta Mitta River in late April. The first Network meeting was held in Shepparton in March and included a lunch to recognise the services of Lyn Breen to the Network. The annual meeting with clergy was held in August at St Augustine’s Church in Kyabram and included reflections on the Second Assembly of the Plenary Council given by Bishop Shane Mackinlay, Fr Joe Taylor VG, Fr Brian Boyle EV and Ruth Lawlor. The Network has committed to four meetings in 2023. The first meeting in March will establish a working party to set agendas, record minutes and prepare future meetings, source professional learning and organise a regular retreat experience for members. It was a significant year for the Rushworth Parish Lay Coordinators, Glen Avard (Cornella), Rebecca Catania (Murchison), Mary Jo Fortuna (Rushworth) and Greg Fitzpatrick (Stanhope). After two years in their role and a very positive review of the arrangements, they were officially installed by Bishop Shane on Sunday 29 May at a parish Mass in Rushworth. On 20 October the Chancery reception was turned into a multi-media studio as our Diocese hosted the first Plenary session of the online 2022 Evangelise Conference. The Sandhurst Plenary began with a specially prepared video introducing the Diocese, which is now available on the Sandhurst website, followed by a keynote from Bishop Shane entitled, “Into the Deep: After the Plenary Council”. After Bishop Shane’s keynote, I hosted a panel discussion responding to our Bishop’s keynote. Our panel members included: Ruth Lawlor (Sandhurst Youth Ministry Coordinator), Fr Junray Rayna (Administrator of St Kilian’s Bendigo) and Astrid Notorangelo (parishioner of St Kilian’s and Pastoral Associate at St Joseph’s Quarry Hill and St Monica’s Kangaroo Flat). We had originally planned for Loris Fletcher, parishioner from St Patrick’s Wangaratta and Fr Novelito Lim, Parish Priest in Echuca, to be on the panel, but the disastrous central Victorian floods stopped our plans for wider diocesan representation. The Conference archive is still available on the National Centre for Evangelisation website (nce.catholic.org.au). One of the great privileges of the year was visiting almost every one of our forty parishes. It was a joy to meet our pastors and parishioners on their home soil. Everywhere I went I was touched by the deep faith and generous hospitality of the people of God, particularly given the challenges of the pandemic and the more recent dislocation and trauma wrought by the floods. I remember especially our visit to St Mary’s Mooroopna in late October. Several parishioners who came along had not been able to get into their street, let alone their homes, and yet, there they were on a Wednesday night: ready to listen deeply for the voice of the Holy Spirit and to speak the truth as they saw it. The doors were open, and I saw a people who were hurting but ready to face reality and respond with integrity, flexibility, and an openness to being led by the Spirit. Dr. Chris Cotter PhD Director of Mission and Pastoral Life Sandhurst Sandhurst Diocese Reports
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