POPE FRANCIS APPROVES CONVENING OF AUSTRALIAN PLENARY COUNCIL, THE FIRST IN 80 YEARS

The Vatican communications office today released news that the Australian Catholic Church, with the approval of Pope Francis, will hold a Plenary Council in 2020 to discuss its way forward in light of the challenges it faces in contemporary society.

The Holy Father gave approval to the meeting of this Council, the first such gathering in 80 years.

The Council in 2020 will address the way forward for the Church in Australia in light of the challenges it faces in contemporary society.

Delegates from the 34 “local churches” of Australia will gather in a series of two sessions in 2020 and 2021.  The process will begin this year at Pentecost and will be engaged in setting an agenda for the actual Plenary Council meetings.

Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, Chair of the Bishops Commission for the Plenary Council, said: “this will be a unique opportunity for people to come together and listen to God in all the ways God speaks to us, and in particular by listening to one another as together we discern what God is asking of us at this time – a time when the Church in Australia is facing significant challenges.”

Pope Francis endorsed the appointment of Archbishop Timothy Costelloe of Perth as the President of the Plenary Council. 

A series of planning meetings has already taken place in which faith-filled people across the country have shared their hopes for the Church.

Decisions made at the Plenary Council will become binding for the Catholic Church in Australia, subject to the approval of the Holy See.

This announcement comes at a time in which the Church in Australia has been struggling to maintain the confidence of the faithful in light of the numerous scandals that have arisen pertaining to the sexual abuse of minors.  Likewise, an increasingly secularist approach to modern day life has seriously and negatively impacted the Church’s ability to have any meaningful role to play in societal issues and mores.

Of course, any decision arising from the Plenary Council will require the approval of the Holy See.  While Pope Francis is certainly enthusiastic and supportive, it remains to be seen (given his age) whether he will still be in office by the time the Plenary Council is concluded.

May the Holy Spirit guide the Holy Father and the participants in the Plenary Council in their endeavors to promote the Gospel and the teachings of the Church to our sisters and brothers who share our faith in Christ in the southern hemisphere.