www.plenarycouncil.catholic.org.au Welcome to PlenaryPost It is almost three-and-a-half years to the day since we announced that Pope Francis had given his approval for the Catholic Church in Australia to hold a plenary council. It was a long journey from the seeds of a national gathering until that approval, and the time since the official period of… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 38

Welcome to PlenaryPost The Steering Team for the Plenary Council’s assemblies, with sub-committees across a range of key areas, are ramping up preparations for the first assembly, which opens on October 3. Council president Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB will celebrate the opening Mass at 11am AWST (2pm AEDT), which will be livestreamed from St Mary’s Cathedral in… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 37

Welcome to PlenaryPost With much of greater Sydney in lockdown and two other states having just emerged from lockdown, there is a sense of comfort in knowing that all the planning for a multi-modal Plenary Council assembly in October means we are ready for all eventualities. That is not to say there aren’t a lot of… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 36

Welcome to PlenaryPost As we sit 101 days before the first Plenary Council assembly, momentum is building in preparation for the assembly and within the broader Catholic community. While the focus can be on the assembly and the Members who will attend — bishops, priests, religious and lay faithful — the journey continues to be one… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 35

Welcome to PlenaryPost There are a number of important and uplifting stories below, including about a couple of milestone moments at Pentecost — the launch of a new prayer campaign and the Council’s formal convocation. While there is a somewhat inevitable focus on the Plenary Council’s Assemblies, the Council has been and remains a journey of… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 34

Welcome to PlenaryPost There was a sense of extra energy in parishes over Easter, having lived through the first suspension of public Masses in decades last year, including during Holy Week. Some dioceses used the occasion to commission Plenary Council members, with large numbers of people gathered for Mass. Dioceses and parishes are also finding ways to… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 33

Welcome to PlenaryPost There has been a sense through this Plenary Council journey that the Catholic world is following what is happening in Australia closely. With just two other plenary councils having taken place in the past 60 years around the world, and none with the level of dialogue and discernment of the Australia process, there’s… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 32

Welcome to PlenaryPost There are just 219 days until the opening of the first assembly of the Plenary Council. And while there is a sense of deja vu about that, with significant preparations taking place early last year before the assemblies were delayed by 12 months, there’s also renewed energy — some of which is captured… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 31

Welcome to PlenaryPost As 2020 draws towards its conclusion, it would have been hard to imagine 12 months ago how much our world — and our Plenary Council journey — would change in the subsequent year. In a world without COVID-19, the first assembly would already have been held in Adelaide, and the important work in… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 30

  Plenary Council 2020 Welcome to PlenaryPost The contribution of more than 220,000 people from across the country during the Listening and Dialogue phase of the Plenary Council set the foundation for the journey towards the Council’s assemblies. But there was a group that was planting the seeds of this historic journey even earlier. The Plenary… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 29

Welcome to PlenaryPost If not for the COVID-19 pandemic, delegates from across Australia would be descending on Adelaide this weekend for the opening assembly of the Plenary Council. The pandemic has put people’s lives on hold in many ways, and the Council is no different. With just 12 months to go until the rescheduled first assembly… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 28

  Plenary Council 2020 Welcome to PlenaryPost The postponement of the Plenary Council assemblies by 12 months has been both a blessing and a challenge. One of the blessings has been the additional time to consider how we can be a Christ-centred Church in Australia with a clearer understanding of how COVID-19 is changing the country… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 27

Plenary Council 2020 Welcome to PlenaryPost The postponement of the first assembly of the Plenary Council by 12 months might have seemed like a slowing down of the Council journey, but lots of work continues to proceed. Groups around the country are unpacking the six discernment papers that were published at Pentecost. One diocese is making… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 26

  www.plenarycouncil.catholic.org.au   Welcome to PlenaryPost As some parts of the country return to something closer to normal, there’s a sense of relief that the two assemblies of the Plenary Council — previously postponed due to COVID-19 — are locked in. We will gather in Adelaide in October 2021, 12 months later than we had… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 25

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