By Eric Martin
The Church in Australia is this year set to challenge the narrative of what it means to be a Christian man in the 21st century.
Organised by the Australian Catholic Bishop’s Conference (ACBC) in conjunction with MenAlive, the national Catholic ministry for men, the virtual Australian Catholic Men’s Gathering 2020 is set to inspire and encourage men with a vision for personal discipleship and service, to take up their mission within the family, the parish and the wider world.
Scheduled for Saturday 15 August, the theme for the conference is “Brothers, what must we do?” taken from Acts 2:37, focussed on where the Church is positioned within modern society, identifying the challenges facing her mission and looking ahead to what the Church could and should be.
The national online gathering will call together a diverse range of Catholic men from around Australia, organiser Robert Falzon says the need for such support for men within the context of Australian culture is “clear and urgent”.
“Suicide, addictions, cancer, mental health issues, the list just goes on – men are in crisis in today’s world; men don’t have the answers for their lives. Many are un-fathered, and they really don’t know why they are here on this earth,” the father-of-four said.
“Men are often struggling to thrive because they don’t have a purpose and revert to passivity, just existing rather than living their lives for God and accepting His challenge to love courageously.”
According to Mr Falzon, males are the fastest diminishing population in the Church today, with less than 200,000 men regularly attending church and the key demographic of men – aged 17 to 35 – among the scarcest to be found at Mass.
“It’s a crisis of faith,” Mr Falzon stated.
“We are in a diminishing phase in the Church at the present and we are not attracting new people: where are all the men?
“We know that they still have their children in Catholic schools and that they are being raised in the faith, yet of all the boys at Catholic schools in Year 12, 93 per cent leave the Church when they leave school, with only seven per cent going on to participate in the parish – we are not reaching young men.”
Mr Falzon shares that it comes at a time in our Church when there are many life challenges.
“There is a need to recognise that it is important to gather now and talk as men of the Church to ensure the Gospel message is alive in our homes, our parishes and our communities,” he added.
“The bishops are praying that this gathering will be a timely opportunity to bring life, renewal and hope for all Catholic men.”
Originally intended to be a single-day event held in Sydney, the COVID-19 travel restrictions have moved the event to be a series of free seminars online.
“The speakers we selected, invited, and agreed to participate; a number of bishops agreed to be involved and a program was finalised; the marketing material was developed; the first emails sent, and then… almost the same week……COVID-19 appeared, and the contagion took charge!” Mr Falzon shared.
“With lockdown in full implementation mode, the working committee had no option but to postpone the live event till 31 July 2021.”
The modified schedule will be delivered in four pre-recorded one-hour sessions, with each session offering input from a variety of speakers and musicians, along with a response and questions for group discussion or individual reflection.
The agenda offers flexibility so that men can participate individually or with others from their parish/diocese or men’s ministry group.
Many high-quality Australian speakers and bishops are on the schedule, including Diocese of Wollongong Director of Evangelisation Jude Hennessy, and Archdiocese of Brisbane Director of Evangelisation Rev Deacon Peter Pellicaan.