SYNODALITY TOP OF AGENDA FOR POPE, ARCHBISHOP COSTELLOE
The Fifth Plenary Council of Australia and the global Synod on Synodality were key discussion points for Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President and Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB and Pope Francis when they meet this week.
Archbishop Costelloe, whom Pope Francis appointed president of the Plenary Council in 2018, was in Rome to take part in the drafting of the working document for the next phase of the journey toward the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. The document will form the basis for the discernment to be undertaken at the continental level in the coming months.
This discernment, in turn, will help shape the drafting of the
instrumentum laboris – the preparatory document that will contribute to the discussions during the formal sessions of the Synod next October.
In a private audience with Pope Francis, Archbishop Costelloe explained that the formal “acts” of the Plenary Council, the outcome of four years of nationwide prayer, listening, dialogue, discernment, and eventually decision-making, will be received by the Bishops Conference at its November plenary meeting. They will then be forwarded to the Holy See for consideration.
“The Holy Father expressed great interest in the work of the Plenary Council,” Archbishop Costelloe said. “I was able to explain to him that the Council had moments of challenge and tension, which we navigated
with prayer and dialogue, but it now holds great hope for the renewal of the Church in Australia.
“I told Pope Francis that the Church in Australia, notwithstanding the many challenges it faces, is alive and vibrant. Pope Francis was particularly pleased to hear of this vitality.”
Reflecting on his time in Rome, which included meetings with key officials from Vatican offices, Archbishop Costelloe expressed his gratitude that the experience of synodality, “which emerged as such a strong feature of the Plenary Council in Australia”, had been recognised and received as a valuable contribution to the journey that the Church throughout the world is undertaking.
“It is clear to me,” Archbishop Costelloe said, “that Pope Francis is absolutely committed to this path towards the more truly synodal Church to which the Lord is calling us, which is the Lord’s particular gift to the Church at this time.
“It was an honour to be able to share our experience with him.”
Archbishop Costelloe also met with Australia’s Ambassador to the Holy See, Chiara Porro, during his time in Rome.
Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB greets Pope Francis. Australian priest Fr Ormond Rush, also assisting with the work of the Synod of Bishops, is captured in the background. PHOTO: SUPPLIED.
DEACON NATHAN CALLED TO SERVE THE PEOPLE OF GOD AND
BE AN INSTRUMENT OF PEACE.
By Michelle Tan
29-year-old Nathan Barrie has been ordained a Deacon in his local city of Bunbury on the Feast of Our lady of the Rosary, Friday 7 October at St Patrick’s Cathedral.
Bunbury Bishop Gerard Holohan celebrated the Mass and was joined by concelebrants Very Rev Tony Chiera VG, Cathedral Dean Rev Dr Pierre Repuyan, St Charles Seminary Rector Rev Fr Philip Fleay, along with Priests from both the Bunbury Diocese and Archdiocese of Perth. Joining in the special celebration was also the Bunbury Catholic Diocesan Liturgical Choir, of which Nathan was a member.
Speaking at the Ordination, Bishop Holohan said “Nathan tonight is called to serve people of God as they go about their mission.” Just as Jesus modelled when He washed the feet of the disciples.
“Human nature is divided and has been since the fall of our first parents. We strive to love but are held back by selfishness. We strive to forgive but are held back by resentments. We strive to be compassionate, but we can be held back [by being judgemental]. Attitudes can stop us from becoming the people that Christ calls us to be.”
But Jesus, Bishop Holohan continued “came to free us… so that we can become the people that God calls
us to be. At Christmas, the angels sang peace on earth. Peace, shalom, which means may you have oneness with God.”
“So Jesus came to restore the human relationship with God. And in that way, as we draw on the power of God in our hearts, we find ourselves rising above challenges and personal failings and weaknesses and finding the path to peace instead of inner conflict.”
“It's a lifelong journey. We all have different personalities and starting points. But Jesus takes each person where they are and by sharing His divine love, we can gradually change from within.”
“If we understand that mission of Jesus, we then understand what He meant when He told us to proclaim the Gospel to all nations. We as Christians, are called to continue that mission of Jesus, leading others to understand and to accept the divine life through baptism, learning how to live, to draw on that, to strengthen their lives, and ultimately to increase inner harmony, and peace.”
Bishop Holohan told all who were present that Jesus cared for His followers who are called to the mission of leading others to Christ in a special way. For example, Jesus took the disciples aside to teach and answer their questions, “calling them aside to rest when they're overworking. He instituted the last supper for the ordained” before they
went about their mission to serve the people of God.
Addressing Nathan, Bishop Holohan said “You're going to receive special responsibilities, and charism from the Lord, to fulfill the ministry of service as Deacon. God in history before time began, has people in mind whom God wants to love through your ministry.”
“The charism is meant to help you see, feel, speak to and behave toward those people whom Christ wishes to serve. The charisms will empower you and through them, Christ will inspire you on exactly how He wants you to function, wherever you are, with the people in that area. But the charisms also can lead to discomfort and crosses. Because the charism, if they're growing, will urge us out of our comfort zones. We'll find ourselves perhaps stretched at times wondering how we can do what needs to be done. In that way, Christ develops our gifts and we can find fulfillment in the peace that He came to bring.”
“You will go into situations perhaps where your faith is challenged. But never be afraid. Because Christ will be with you. Peter learned he could walk on water, as long as he kept focused on Christ and not the storm. So in your prayer make sure you share with the Lord, your heart, your feelings, your joys, and your disappointments. Share with him fully, the one who seeks to serve through you, so He can then form you and strengthen you.”
“In the greatest challenges, focusing on Christ in the depths of your heart, you will find the joy and the peace that Jesus spoke over the last supper. Peace - He said, I leave with you My own peace, I give you not a peace of this world.” This peace that comes from Christ - a promise, the shalom, harmony with God, that will bring harmony within, harmony with others, and harmony with the rest of creation.”
Watch the full video of the Ordination https://youtu.be/2CFOD3S1Xm0
Deacon Nathan (Centre) with St Charles Seminary Rector Rev Fr Philip Fleay (Left) and Bunbury Bishop Gerard Holohan (Right). PHOTO: JAMIE O'BRIEN.
CATHOLIC LEADERS JOIN MULTI-FAITH CALL TO INCREASE AMBITION ON CLIMATE
First Nations and senior faith leaders from across Australia and the Pacific, including prominent Catholics, have published an open letter calling on the Albanese Government to stop approvals for new coal and gas projects and end public subsidies for fossil fuel industries.
Signatories of the open letter include Cardinal Sir John Ribat of Port Moresby, Archbishop Patrick O’Regan of Adelaide, Archbishop Peter Loy Chong of Suva and leaders of many Australian Catholic Religious Orders. They join First Nations leaders and high-level Buddhist, Quaker, Muslim, Hindu, Brahma Kumaris, Jewish and Sikh leaders. Multi-faith services were held across Australia and the Pacific today showing endorsement of the leaders’ message by everyday people of faith. St Patrick’s Cathedral in Parramatta and St Mary’s in Perth hosted services. Some devotees spent the whole previous night in meditation, prayer, chanting and in some cases fasting to show their depth of feeling on the issue.
The open letter is critical that Australia “profits from exports that are causing the (climate) crisis”, and
instead urges the Labor Government to show “urgent, courageous, visionary” leadership.
Bishop Vincent Long, Bishop of Parramatta and Chair of the Australian Bishops’ Commission for Social Justice, said, “We are encouraged by the commitment of the new government to better honour the Paris agreement by cutting 43% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
“However, these reduction targets are just a floor and not a ceiling. We call on the Albanese Government to show strong leadership and stop new coal and gas projects and public subsidies for polluting fossil fuel industries. As a nation, we cannot claim to be a responsible global citizen in addressing the great moral challenge of our age while we lag behind other nations on climate action,” he said.
“As fellow Australians and Christians, we urge our legislators to heed Pope Francis’s appeal: ‘Now is the time for new courage in abandoning fossil fuels to accelerate the development of zero- or positive-impact sources of energy.’”
Signatories of the open letter are
furthermore calling for Australia to restart contributions to the UN’s Green Climate Fund. Contributing to the Fund is widely viewed in lowincome countries as a crucial test of how seriously wealthy countries take their responsibilities.
They ask that Australia fully respects First Nations peoples’ rights to protect their Country, to support an orderly transition for regional communities away from coal and gas, and endorse a global Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The proposed treaty reflects a growing global concern that the continued production and export of fossil fuels is overpowering any gains made by the nation-by-nation pursuit of emissions reduction targets. Advocates of the treaty seek to influence the United Nations COP27 climate talks, to be held next month in Egypt.
The letter and multi-faith services were organised by the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, as part of a global faith campaign known as “Faiths 4 Climate Justice”, in which actions are being organised in over 40 countries in the lead-up to COP27.
A hand planting a tree on dry cracked land. PHOTOS: ADOBE STOCK.
POPE PRAYS FOR UNITY OF CHURCH AS HE CELEBRATES ANNIVERSARY OF VATICAN II
The Second Vatican Council was the universal Catholic Church's response to God's love and to Jesus' command to feed his sheep, Pope Francis said, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the council's opening.
The council reminded the Church of what is "essential," Pope Francis said: "a Church madly in love with its Lord and with all the men and women whom he loves," one that "is rich in Jesus and poor in assets," a Church that "is free and freeing."
Pope Francis presided over the Mass 11 October in St Peter's Basilica, where the council sessions were held in four sessions from 1962 to 1964.
The date is also the feast of St John XXIII, who convoked and opened the council; the glass urn containing his body was moved to the centre of the basilica for the liturgy.
The Gospel reading at the Mass recounted Jesus asking St Peter, "Do you love me?" and telling him, "Feed my sheep."
In his homily, Pope Francis said the council was the Church's response to
that question and marked a renewed effort to feed God's sheep, not just those who are Catholic, but all people. The debates that followed the council and continue today are a distraction from the Church's mission, Pope Francis said.
"We are always tempted to start from ourselves rather than from God, to put our own agendas before the Gospel, to let ourselves be caught up in the winds of worldliness in order to chase after the fashions of the moment or to turn our back the time that providence has granted us," he said.
Catholics must be careful, he said, because "both the 'progressivism' that lines up behind the world and the 'traditionalism' that longs for a bygone world are not evidence of love, but of infidelity," forms of "selfishness that puts our own tastes and plans above the love that pleases God, the simple, humble and faithful love that Jesus asked of Peter."
"A Church in love with Jesus has no time for quarrels, gossip and disputes,"
Pope Francis said. "May God free us from being critical and intolerant, harsh and angry. This is not a matter of style but of love."
Jesus, the good shepherd, "wants his flock to be united under the guidance of the pastors he has given them," Pope Francis said, but the devil loves to sow division; "let us not give in to his enticements or to the temptation of polarisation."
"How often, in the wake of the council, did Christians prefer to choose sides in the Church, not realizing that they were breaking their mother's heart," the heart of their mother, the Church, Pope Francis said.
How often, he asked, did they prefer "to be on the 'right' or 'left,' rather than with Jesus? To present themselves as 'guardians of the truth' or 'pioneers of innovation' rather than seeing themselves as humble and grateful children of Holy Mother Church?"
Pope Francis prays before a glass urn containing the remains of St. John XXIII after celebrating Mass in St Peter's Basilica. PHOTO: CNS/VATICAN MEDIA.