Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB says the six discernment papers for the fifth Plenary Council of Australia signify the latest milestone as the Church considers its present circumstances and discerns its future.

The two assemblies for the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia will now take place in October 2021 and April 2022, following the disruption of the original schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The recent decision to indefinitely postpone the First Assembly of the Plenary Council (PC) (scheduled for October 2020) due to the unavoidable circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, did not deter the absolute commitment of the bishops, and hopefully of all Australian Catholics, to the Plenary Council, and could instead buy more time for Catholics to discern, affirmed Plenary Council President Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB during the recent Holy Thursday Mass live telecast from St Mary’s Cathedral.

Plenary Council President, Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, said that in in response to the dramatic changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the bishops of Australia have made the “difficult, but necessary” decision to postpone the first assembly of the Plenary Council (PC).

Plenary Council President Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB said that in in response to the dramatic changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the bishops of Australia have made the “difficult, but necessary” decision to postpone the first assembly of the Plenary Council.

Guided by the Holy Spirit, Plenary Council lay Perth delegates Marco Ceccarelli and Angela McCarthy express their sentiments on being elected as Perth representatives, as they look forward to their involvement in the upcoming Plenary Council Assemblies in October 2020 and May 2021.