Plenary Matters

Ahead of Pope Francis’ trip to our region, Plenary Matters caught up again with Augustinian Assistant General Fr Tony Banks during his recent visit to Australia. He’s been involved with preparations for the pope’s visit to the border between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea where prayer and diplomacy meet.

He believes that the real impacts of synodality are on the ground, in local decision making, and the implementation of regional differences that put people at the centre of pastoral work. And like Francis, the bishops still have a journey to go.

Geraldine will be back soon! You can join her along with Jesuit priest Fr Frank Brennan, synod advisor Dr Sandie Cornish, and members of Australian Catholics Exploring the Diaconate (ACED), at the St Phoebe Webinar on 3rd September.

Get in touch via our Plenary Matters Facebook page!

Synodality is ‘a different way of living’ unity in diversity, according to theologian and canon lawyer Myriam Wijlens who has been closely involved in the global synod. And Europe’s diplomatic leaders are taking note.

Cardinal Hollerich, one of four male clerics who presented the working document for the second session of the synod in Rome, thinks synodality can bridge polarities. But can the church be a credible witness while only ordaining men to speak on its behalf?

The people of God need new lenses, Myriam tells Geraldine, that can focus on the local church while remaining recognisably Catholic. And it’s this multi-focal approach that the synod is also testing for women to speak and lead in the church.

You can watch the interview with Myriam Wijlens, recorded at the Diocese of Parramatta as part of the Bishop Vincent Presents series, and also read an interview with Cardinal Hollerich, ‘If women do not feel comfortable in the church, we have failed’.

As always, please share your thoughts via the Plenary Matters Facebook page!

Fresh from her meeting with Pope Francis, Associate Professor Maeve Heaney VDMF joined Geraldine at the Spiritual Care Australia conference to speak about holding together tension in the church, and how music has helped her to name experiences of vulnerability through illness.

Two years on from Australia’s Plenary Council, and in the wake of Francis’ ‘no’ to women’s ordination to the diaconate during his CBS interview, Maeve thinks we need to find ways truthfully and creatively to ‘untie the knot’ between ordination and authority in the church.

Mentioned in the episode:

Get in touch via the Plenary Matters Facebook page!

At the Spiritual Care Australia conference held at the Australian Catholic University in North Sydney, Geraldine sat down with keynote speaker, Rev Jon Owen, CEO and pastor of the Wayside Chapel, which turns 60 this year.

They discuss the spiritual needs of communities still seeking ritual, as in the aftermath of the Bondi shootings where Wayside has opened a chapel. It's when we come together to share stories, Jon says, that we can remedy the social impacts of loneliness and mitigate the temptation to retreat into easy answers.

Mentioned in the episode:

Thank you for listening! Would love to hear your feedback on the Plenary Matters Facebook page.

Hear from some inspired leaders, fresh from an international conference in Canberra, about a church alive in Catholic education today.

Barbara Coupar from Scottish Catholic Education Service, Ross Fox from Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn and Peter Woods from the ACU La Salle Academy have all seen the confidence-building of students, teachers and leaders where conversations about faith are encouraged in and outside the classroom.

And they want the conversations to extend beyond schools to the whole church.

Read more about the conference, A Current of Grace: Renewing Catholic Schools as Centres of Evangelisation.

Share your ideas and suggestions via the Plenary Matters Facebook page.

Two years on from Australia’s Plenary Council, Catholic schools are taking up Pope Francis’ call for bold action in living the contemporary mission of the Church in Australia.

Deputy CEO of Catholic Schools NSW Danielle Cronin says Catholic schools are no longer immune to the challenges of social cohesion. But it’s ‘in our DNA,’ she says, to see the whole child, including the families and communities around them, as the mission of Catholic education today.

From the Diocese of Lismore to the tiny town of Wee Waa, the ‘Connected Catholic Communities’ initiative is responding to the diverse and distant needs inside and beyond the school gate. It’s a holistic model, based on partnerships – and hope.

Thanks for listening! Get in touch via the Plenary Matters Facebook page.

In this special episode of Plenary Matters Geraldine speaks about hope with Dominican priest Timothy Radcliffe during his recent visit to Australia.

Pope Francis appointed Fr Timothy as spiritual advisor to the synod on synodality and his series of talks and meditations to synod delegates set the tone for the synod’s call to journey together as a global human family.

Timothy tells Geraldine he thinks the church has something to offer a multipolar world. But it may cost us. ‘This crisis will really put us to the test whether we are the body of Christ in which the walls are broken down between north and south and east and west,’ he says.

Mentioned in the show:

You can also catch up on Plenary Matters' coverage from Rome:

Share your thoughts on the Plenary Matters Facebook page

Welcome back to a new season of Plenary Matters!

Up first is renowned Czech theologian Tomáš Halík, in Australia last month to discuss his new book, The Afternoon of Christianity, with Australian Jesuit Frank Brennan. Drawing on his experience of an underground church, Tomáš calls for a deepening spirituality that goes beyond the institutional and mental borders of Christianity to meet the ‘Galilee of today’.

Is the church ready for the task?

Watch the discussion on the Diocese of Parramatta's YouTube channel, as part of the 'Bishop Vincent Presents' series, and leave your feedback via the Plenary Matters Facebook page.

Read the National Catholic Reporter's review of Tomáš Halík’s book: 'The Afternoon of Christianity' sets stage for courageous change

We’ll also post a link in future episodes to the discussion on women deacons Geraldine mentions at the end of the episode.

Christopher White, Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, sat down with Geraldine during his recent visit to the Diocese of Parramatta to give some revealing anecdotes and insights into the synod's first assembly.

He also told Geraldine any correspondence to the pope on matters like women deacons can be sent c/- Prefecture of the Papal Household, 00120 Vatican City State.

You can watch the interview on the Diocese of Parramatta's YouTube channel, as part of the 'Bishop Vincent Presents' series.

Keep up to date via the Plenary Matters Facebook page!

The synod released its letter to the People of God, while Pope Francis made his own intervention on the Church as 'God's faithful people.' Geraldine chats with Julie on her last day on the press floor about her experience observing on the ground and how synodality might be made more concrete in the coming months.

On Vatican News:

On National Catholic Reporter:

Send your feedback via the Plenary Matters Facebook page.