The Church in Perth will pray for the Holy Spirit’s blessing upon its members of the historic Fifth Plenary Council of the Church in Australia as they prepare to head to Sydney for the next phase of the Council’s deliberations.
The 18-strong delegation will join the Archbishop of Perth and Plenary Council president, Archbishop Timothy Costello SDB, on the Feast of Pentecost for a special prayer of blessing on 5 June at the 11am Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral.
In July, the members will participate in the Second General Assembly of the Council, a gathering in Sydney of more than 300 people from throughout Australia, discussing soon-to-be-released proposals building on those from the first assembly in October 2021.
Archdiocesan Plenary Council coordinator Tony Giglia says the Mass is an opportunity for the Church in Perth to journey-in-the-Spirit with members in what will be the next phase of Australia’s first plenary council since 1937.
“We will send these members off with our love and best wishes, and commend them to the guidance of the Holy Spirit for this historic occasion,” Mr Giglia told The Record this week.
“At the end of this process, all of the work that comes out of it will get written up as recommendations for the bishops (of Australia) to consider at their own meeting in November. Then, that all goes off to Rome.
“At the end of that, it will be up to each bishop to consider how the outcomes of the Plenary Council will be implemented in each diocese.”
The subsidence of the pandemic will allow members to come together in a way that hasn’t been possible for some years.
COVID-19 scuttled initial plans for the first assembly of the council, originally set to take place in person in Adelaide, with Council members instead meeting online via the Teams meeting app.
While a national gathering wasn’t possible at the time, Perth’s members were determined to gather each day of the assembly at the Catholic Education Office of Western Australia in Leederville, sharing meals and Mass together each day in a spirit of togetherness.
The way the Church has risen to the challenge of finding new ways to express “synodality” – sharing and collaboration in the communion of the Church – has proved a great blessing.
“In the end, the delays turned out to be a great gift, enabling people to spend that much longer in prayer and consultation with the people around them,” Mr Giglia said.
In a publication containing the proposals of the first assembly, released in March, Archbishop Costelloe described the council as an ongoing “process of discernment”, one appropriately bookended by the prayer “Come, Holy Spirit”.
“We are very mindful of all those who have trusted us to carry their hopes and
dreams with us.
“I am confident that we will continue to walk together,” Archbishop Costelloe wrote, “as we reflect together on the ever present and pressing question: what do you think God is asking of us in Australia at this time?”
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