Our next Plenary Member is Dr Marco Ceccarelli, MA, PhD, current Director of the Centre for Faith Enrichment, the adult faith formation agency of the Archdiocese of Perth.
Marco has taught European history, literature and culture at The University of Western Australia (where he received his PhD) and his current academic interests include Church history, Jesuit scholarship, Catholic responses to terrorism, interfaith dialogue, the history of modern Europe and European literature.
He hopes the Plenary Council will explore ways to initiate, support and strengthen the faith of the laity, including men and women, youth, families, the elderly, the disabled, and the poor and marginalised.
“I particularly liked the theme: ‘A Joyful, Hope-filled and Servant Community’, because I grew up with a sibling who has a disability.
“The Church, my Christian community, and the perseverance of my Catechists were the means through which I learnt to love him.
“This is just one example of so many in my life where I felt that the Church was present and helped me to understand and make sense of my suffering,” he added.
Having seen the fruits that have come from the first two Plenary Council phases (Listening and Dialogue and Listening and Discernment), Dr Ceccarelli is confident that the Church will continue to take the synodal approach – that is to be a Church that walks together, where the faithful listens to each other, and all try to listen to the Holy Spirit speaking in the voices of the group.
Being a synodal Church, Dr Ceccarelli added, demands a certain vulnerability on “our” part, which can be unsettling.
“I hope that through this process of PC, our Church can rediscover the value of those elements of formation and evangelisation that are so central to its mission.”
Let’s hear Marco Ceccarelli’s response to what he thinks the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church in Australia at this time.
