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

Welcome to PlenaryPost As more and more people across the country learn about the Plenary Council process and realise they are able to help shape the agenda for the Council, stories of conversations taking place in innovative ways are emerging. If you haven’t already done so, check out the new resources on the website. There… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 9

Welcome to PlenaryPost People working in Church communications – for dioceses, religious orders, schools and other ministries – gathered in Queensland last week for a triennial conference with the theme “Communicating Hope and Trust”, taken from one of Pope Francis’ messages for World Communications Day. Plenary Council facilitator Lana Turvey-Collins spoke of the process under… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 8

Welcome to PlenaryPost The Catholic Church in Australia, like many in the western world, has been undergoing a quite radical transformation in recent years. The history of the Church here was largely forged by people with British, Irish and European heritage – just as the nation’s history was influenced by those cultures. A look into… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 7

Welcome to PlenaryPost Observant readers of PlenaryPost will notice that today’s edition has come out on a Wednesday, not a Tuesday. That’s because today is one of the highlights of the Catholic year, as we stop and commemorate the life and legacy of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. Mary MacKillop was a person who recognised… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 6

Welcome to PlenaryPost When the Church decided to hold a Plenary Council to consider the future of the Catholic Church in Australia, it naturally became a focal point for many people. We know that the success of the Council will depend largely on how the people of God choose to participate — or not —… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 5

Welcome to PlenaryPost The first seven weeks of the Plenary Council’s Listening and Dialogue process have flown by and submissions continue to flood in through the Plenary Council’s website. In the next edition of PlenaryPost we’ll let you know what you’re telling us about what you think God is asking of us in Australia at this… Continue Reading Plenary Post_Edition 4