Still Listening to the Spirit (Discussion Guide).pdf Welcome to PlenaryPost The past couple of weeks have been bittersweet ones for the Plenary Council. On March 23, we announced the more than 250 delegates that have been called to the Plenary Council, providing a ray of good news in the midst of a Church and a… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 24

Plenary Post # 23 Still Listening to the Spirit (Discussion Guide).pdf Welcome to PlenaryPost Many of the key groups helping the Church prepare for the Fifth Plenary Council in Australia and its two assemblies — the first in Adelaide this October — have met over the past couple of weeks. On February 11 and 12,… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 23

      Welcome to PlenaryPost The build-up to the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia has, in many ways, been a long process. The origins of the Council go back almost 20 years, as the Australian bishops considered St John Paul II’s call in his apostolic letter Novo Millennio Ineunte for the Church to consider its… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 22

  Click on each image to view the ‘pdf’ Snapshot Report relating to each ‘Theme‘                  

      Welcome to PlenaryPost Over a period of six weeks, the Plenary Council team, in partnership with the National Centre for Pastoral Research (NCPR), published a series of “snapshot reports” relevant to each of the six National Themes for Discernment. This past Sunday, the NCPR published the final report to summarise the Listening… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 20

      Welcome to PlenaryPost The Plenary Council process so far has been an exercise in listening, in dialogue, in conversation — in changing the way the People of God communicate with one another, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It has also been a process of numbers. Over 10 months, at least… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 18

    Welcome to PlenaryPost The end of the Listening and Dialogue phase of the Plenary Council last month in some ways marked a public “pause” in the process, allowing the people of God to focus on preparing for and celebrating the great feast and season of Easter. During this period, significant work is taking… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 17

    Welcome to PlenaryPost It covered almost 10 months and culminated in a flurry of late submissions, but the Listening and Dialogue phase of the Plenary Council has yielded a remarkable foundation from which the people of God can move forward. Late last week, the National Centre for Pastoral Research (NCPR) completed the statistical analysis and… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 16

  Welcome to PlenaryPost With the last Plenary Council in Australia having been held more than 80 years ago and with there being no real “prototype” for a national council of this type in the world, it was unclear how the Australian people would participate – especially in the opening Listening and Dialogue phase. Over… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 15

  Welcome to PlenaryPost With just over two weeks to go until the “Listening and Dialogue” phase of the Plenary Council concludes, momentum is still strong and people’s stories are being shared as frequently as ever. Plenary Council facilitator Lana Turvey-Collins is collaborating with groups across the country to help them understand and engage with the… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 14

Welcome to PlenaryPost As Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, the Plenary Council 2020 president, said last week, it was hard to know how many people would grasp the opportunity to consider “what God is asking of us in Australia at this time”. Through the end of 2018, the answer was “more than 40,000” – people who… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 13

Welcome to PlenaryPost It’s hard to believe that 2018 is already coming to a close. It’s also hard to believe that the Plenary Council’s Listening and Dialogue phase has been going for seven months already. Time has flown by and people’s stories of life and faith have flooded in. Christmas is a chance for families and… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 12

Welcome to PlenaryPost Much of the focus for the Plenary Council so far has been on the primary question that the Council is considering: “What do you think God is asking of us in Australia at this time?” That is the first of three pieces of stimulus that people are invited to reflect upon when… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 11

Welcome to PlenaryPost With more than 5 million people ticking “Catholic” on the last Australian Census, the Plenary Council was always going to be ambitious in its efforts to connect with and hear from a large number of people. At the end of September, the National Centre for Pastoral Research analysed the number of people who… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 10