ARCHBISHOP COSTELLOE COMMENCES TERM AS CONFERENCE PRESIDENT
Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB has officially taken over the presidency of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, two months after being elected to the post. The Bishops Conference’s biennial election of president and vicepresident took place at its May plenary meeting.
Archbishop Costelloe was elected President, with Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP re-elected Vice-President. The bishops agreed to delay the handover of the role until after the second assembly of the Fifth
Plenary Council of Australia, for which Archbishop Costelloe served as President for more than four years.
The Second Assembly concluded on Saturday, but the date for the change of president was July 13 –to coincide with the completion of a retreat for bishops that ended on Wednesday afternoon.
Archbishop Costelloe, the Archbishop of Perth, becomes the first bishop of a West Australian diocese and the first bishop who is a member of a religious order to lead the Bishops Conference.
He succeeds Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge, who served as President for four years.
When elected in May, Archbishop Costelloe said: “As we continue to contemplate how we live out the Gospel in this age […] I look forward to working with my brother bishops and the People of God to carry forward Christ’s mission.”
An interview with Archbishop Costelloe will be published next week.
Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB succeeds Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge, who served as President for four years. . PHOTO: MICHELLE TAN.
SEAFARERS APPEAL HIGHLIGHTS HARSH AND DEMANDING CONDITIONS ON SHIPS
Perth Deacon and former Director of the Stella Maris Seafarers Centre has shared his experience with Journey Radio Editor Max Norden. Deacon Patrick was speaking in celebration of Seafarers Sunday, with more than 28,000 merchant ships visit Australian ports each year. These ships are crewed by some 300,000 seafarers, with many of these mariners coming from developing countries and are employed because they represent cheap labour for the ship owners. An appeal being launched this Sunday across parishes aims to raise awareness of the needs of seafarers – the often unseen, vital workers that keep our economies going, but often at great personal cost to themselves and their families. The appeal highlights that even in the best of times, seafarers suffer harsh and demanding conditions aboard the ship.
Having signed on for contracts lasting eight to 10 months, seafarers suffer from boredom, loneliness, constant noise and vibration, and the ever-present fear of suffering an injury or sickness while at sea. Every year, thousands of seafarers are injured and many die, many having taken their own life.
Last year, more than 250 seafarers were hospitalised in Australia because of a medical emergency suffered on board a ship.
A father of six, Deacon Patrick has spoken to The Record in 2012, recalling how in early 2007, shortly after he was ordained to the permanent diaconate, he received a call from the then-Vicar General, Mgr Brian O’Loughlin asking if he would consider the post of Stella Maris Administrator.
The centre had been closed and left empty for two years. The whole place was a wreck when he saw
it, Deacon Patrick said, with graffiti and rotting carpet throughout the building.
Getting it back to a functional state was tough but re-establishing connections with seafarers was no-less difficult.
He had expected to be working exclusively in a parish – visiting parishioners, doing baptisms and burials, and assisting the liturgy.
Now retired from his role at Stella Maris, Deacon Patrick serves at his home parish of St Francis Xavier in Armadale, living with Carol, his wife of 40 years, in the neighbouring town of Roleystone.
Listen to the Podcast Here https://soundcloud.com/pulse941/ week-466in-conversationdeaconpatrick-mooresea-sunday/ s-8mdeO7CideL?utm_ source=clipboard&utm_ medium=text&utm_ campaign=social_sharing
Perth Deacon and former Director of the Stella Maris Seafarers Centre, Patrick Moore, loads up the van to deliver goods to seafarers during COVID lockdowns. PHOTO: ERIC MARTIN.
SAFEGUARDING PROGRAM TEAM ADOPTS LASERFICHE FOR SECURE INFORMATION GOVERNANCE
The Archdiocese of Perth will this year commence implementation of an Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS). Implementation of the system, initially for the corporate administration team members aims to develop a whole-of-organisation approach to storing, accessing and updating data in a more secure, accurate and efficient way.
The Laserfiche software for Document and Records Management has been chosen for this purpose.
The Safeguarding Program Team at the Archdiocese are the first team to be trained in, adopt and now, use Laserfiche, supporting their everyday work and service of raising awareness and embedding policy, practice and culture around the safety of children, adults at risk and all members of our community. Director of Safeguarding, Barbara Blayney shared the team’s Laserfiche journey with The Record. Introducing Laserfiche to support a safer and inclusive Church Like many workplaces across the Archdiocese, the lockdowns caused by COVID-19 meant the Safeguarding Program team needed
to be able to work safely offsite, while also accessing data to continue the important implementation of the National Catholic Safeguarding Standards.
“The Safeguarding and Archives team members moved very quickly to access data offsite when Covid-19 hit, adopting a very agile approach to transfer all of the data initially to Laserfiche and then working together to ‘fit’ the data into the right places in the system,” commented Barbara.
“This involved providing consistent naming conventions, adding meta data to all of the online documentation we transferred, storing them in the right places,” she said.
“During this whole process, our team developed a strong appreciation of the importance of document and records management.
“Very quickly, we noticed that the efficient search functionality and accessibility of Laserfiche meant that we can streamline our workflows and practices more.”
“Of course, this presents a flow-on benefits to stakeholders, clients and community we serve. We are able, as a support team, to provide them with accurate feedback and
up-to-date information.”
“The time savings that Laserfiche present also means we have more time to spend in consulting, communicating and engaging with the Perth Church community.”
Future opportunities with Laserfiche
While the Safeguarding Program team are now all fully trained in Laserfiche, Barbara indicated that the learning discovery process still continues, with more possibilities waiting on the horizon.
“We can see the possibilities of improving connectivity with everyone at the Archdiocese through Laserfiche,” Barbara said.
“For example, we are already easily sharing records and documents with the Office of the Vicar General through the click of a button, whilst ensuring that we utilise the “confidentiality function” within Laserfiche to protect data and information security.”
“Once Laserfiche is rolled out to all teams, we can see the benefits for further improving whole of organisation workflows and working relationships with each other."
Anne Wilson (Archivist, Archives and Information Governance Office), presents the Laserfiche Certificate of Completion to Barbara Blayney (Director, Safeguarding Program). PHOTO: SUPPLIEDV.
DEACONS CALLED TO GO OUT INTO THE DEEP
Organisers have released the program of the upcoming National Deacons Conference, to be held in Baulkham Hills, Sydney, in October, including a number of high-profile speakers and the opportunity for attendees to meet the Apostolic Nuncio to Australia, Archbishop Charles Balvo.
The theme of the 2022 conference is “Deacons going into the deep –Speak Lord, Your Servant is listening.”
Speakers include New South Wales Ageing and Disability Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald AM speaking on “Deacons Missioning in a Church Without Walls”, Plenary Council Facilitator Lana Turvey-Collins on listening and service and Dr Anne Benjamin covering how deacons can nurture a synodal Church.
Archbishop Charles Balvo will address the Conference dinner and celebrate the concluding Mass for the event.
The Conference will also be an opportunity to digest and discern the outcomes of the Second Assembly of the Plenary Council.
Organisers say the theme responds to the call of Bishop Vincent Long
OFM Conv, Bishop of Parramatta, to “Go into the Deep”, inviting members of our faith community to reach out to the margins of society in our ministries.
The theme is also a response to the Australian Plenary Council question, “What do you think God is asking of us in Australia at this time?”
The conference will also be a time of discerning and considering how diaconal ministries can serve the needs of a post-Plenary Council Church.
Organisers hope the conference will also be a time to consider how the ministry of the deacon can respond in a life-giving way at both local and national levels as we emerge from the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Deacon Peter McCulloch of Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral Parish, Hornsby, recommends that anyone interested in the Church should attend.
“The National Deacons’ Conference is a great place to meet people who make such a difference in the life of the Church,” he said.
“If you want to get a sense of how the Church is changing, go to the next
National Conference of Deacons.”
Parousia Media Director Charbel Raish, who is sponsoring the event, is keen for not only deacons and their wives to attend, but any lay people interested in deepening their faith. “Jesus did say that the harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few,” he said.
“We tend to apply this bible quote to the priesthood but just as important is the Vocational call to the diaconate. There are so many misunderstandings of what a deacon does so this is a good opportunity to bring together anyone who is discerning this important call to dive deeper into the role of a deacon.”
The National Association of Deacons’ Conference will be held from 13 to 16 October 2022 at St Joseph’s Conference and Retreat Centre, Baulkham Hills, Sydney. Registrations are open now, with an early bird discount available until 22 July, and discounts for members of the National Association of Deacons.
Speakers for the upcoming National Deacons Conference in October this year include New South Wales Ageing and Disability Commissioner Robert Fitzgerald M speaking on “Deacons Missioning in a Church Without Walls”, Plenary Council Facilitator Lana Turvey-Collins on listening and service and Dr Anne Benjamin covering how deacons can nurture a synodal Church. ARTWORKS: DIOCESE OF PARRAMATTA.