Archbishop Costelloe, whom Pope Francis appointed President of the Plenary Council in 2018, was in Rome in October this year to take part in the drafting of the working document for the next phase of the journey toward the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.
The document will form the basis for the discernment to be undertaken at the continental level in the coming months.
This discernment, in turn, will help shape the drafting of the Instrumentum Laboris – the preparatory document that will contribute to the discussions during the formal sessions of the Synod next October.
In a private audience with Pope Francis, Archbishop Costelloe explained that the formal “acts” of the Plenary Council, the outcome of four years of nationwide prayer, listening, dialogue, discernment, and eventually decision-making, would be received by the Bishops Conference at its November plenary meeting.
In November, the documents, which comprise five volumes across hundreds of pages, were received and approved at the Bishops Conference’s Plenary and will now be sent to the Apostolic See for review.
As the acts and decrees were received, the bishops sang the Te Deum, acknowledging the solemnity of the moment in the life of the Church in Australia.
“It was quite a poignant moment as we sensed – once again – the significance of the Council in the life of the Church in Australia,” said Bishops Conference President and Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB.
“In fact, my recent trip to Rome underlined how closely the Church around the world was watching the Plenary Council and how aspects of it are being lived out through the global Synod for a Synodal Church,” he said.
Archbishop Costelloe continued by explaining that what has been sent to Rome is what emerged from the two Assemblies, but also what was uncovered during the earlier stages of the Plenary Council journey
“They are, in many ways, a capturing of – as Gaudium et Spes proposed from the Second Vatican Council – ‘the joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties’ of the People of God,” he said.
The Bishops Conference also approved the terms of reference for the review of the implementation of the Plenary Council.
The terms of reference were set out by the Bishops Commission for the Plenary Council, which concluded its work at last week’s plenary meeting.
“The Holy Father expressed great interest in the work of the Plenary Council,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
“I was able to explain to him that the Council had moments of challenge and tension, which we navigated with prayer and dialogue, but it now holds great hope for the renewal of the Church in Australia.
“I told Pope Francis that the Church in Australia, not withstanding the many challenges it faces, is alive and vibrant. Pope Francis was particularly pleased to hear of this vitality.”
Reflecting on his time in Rome, which included meetings with key officials from Vatican offices, Archbishop Costelloe expressed his gratitude that the experience of synodality, “which emerged as such a strong feature of the Plenary Council in Australia”, had been recognised and received as a valuable contribution to the journey that the Church throughout the world is undertaking.
“It is clear to me,” Archbishop Costelloe said, “that Pope Francis is absolutely committed to this path towards the more truly synodal Church to which the Lord is calling us, which is the Lord’s particular gift to the Church at this time.
“It was an honour to be able to share our experience with him.”
The implementation phase will see oversight and coordination for each decree of the Plenary Council entrusted to at least one of the Bishops Conference’s commissions.
Those commissions will provide reports to the May 2023 Plenary meeting of the Bishops Conference. Another review will be undertaken in 2025, with a final review report to be published in 2027.