SEASON OF LENT AND PREPARATION FOR EASTER

DIOCESE OF BROKEN BAY

Tel: (02) 8379 1600 Caroline Chisholm Centre Building 2, 423 Pennant Hills Rd Pennant Hills NSW 2120 PO Box 340 Pennant Hills NSW 1715

enquiries@bbcatholic.org.au CHANCERY

Bishop: Most Rev Anthony Randazzo

Vicar General: Very Rev Dr David Ranson

Chancellor & Executive Officer: Kelly Paget

Diocesan Financial Administrator, Director, Stewardship:

Emma McDonald

Director, Diocesan Safeguarding:

Jodie Crisafulli Tel: (02) 8379 1605

Acting Director Communications:

Katrina Lee

Director, Evangelisation Broken Bay:

Tomasz Juszczak

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS BROKEN BAY

Director: Danny Casey Tel (02) 9847 0000 PO Box 967 Pennant Hills NSW 1715

CATHOLICCARE

Executive Director: Tim Curran Tel: (02) 9481 2600

Family Centres:

Brookvale – Tel: (02) 8043 2600 Naremburn – Tel: (02) 8425 8700 Tuggerah – Tel: (02) 4356 2600 Waitara – Tel: (02) 9488 2400

Hospital Chaplaincy & Pastoral Care:

(02) 9481 2600

Children’s Services:

(02) 9481 2600

Disability Futures:

(02) 9488 2500

Services for Seniors:

(02) 9488 2500

Permanency Support Program (Foster Care):

(02) 4320 7700

BROKEN BAY NEWS

Editor: Katrina Lee Tel: (02) 8379 1618

news@bbcatholic.org.au

Design: Chris Murray

10,400 copies of Broken Bay News are distributed quarterly to 26 parishes and 44 schools in the Diocese of Broken Bay. The Broken Bay News is a member of the Australasian Catholic Press Association. Acceptance of advertisements does not imply diocesan endorsement of products or services advertised.

www.bbcatholic.org.au

We acknowledge the Darug, Gurringai and Darkinjung Nations, the traditional custodians of the land across our Diocese. We recognise the Aboriginal people as holding the memories, the traditions and the culture of the lands we live and work upon. We honour their wisdom and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

Cover photo courtesy of St Kieran’s Catholic Primary School, Manly Vale

BISHOP’S MESSAGE

The Universality of Faith

By Bishop Anthony Randazzo

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

As I write this for the first edition of Broken Bay News for 2022, I am sitting in Rome and from my desk I look out upon the Basilica of Saint Augustine, just outside my window. It is a beautiful Basilica which is also the burial place of Saint Monica, the mother of Augustine.

I lived in this house when I was studying in Rome and when I worked at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It has been a home away from home for many years, and yet even though I am in familiar territory, I find my heart, my mind, and my prayers constantly returning to Broken Bay.

The primary purpose of this visit to Rome was for an international Symposium on the Priesthood. Our Holy Father, Francis, opened the Symposium with a teaching on Faith and the Priesthood Today. Other speakers were clergy and laity, male and female whose work is focused on the anthropology of vocations. In sum, they specialise on human life, culture, and history which is animated by the divine breath of the Holy Spirit. It is inspiring to see how closely the themes overlapped with some of our own work in Broken Bay, especially regarding the six pastoral priorities that are the foundation of our Diocesan Pastoral Mission. the vocation of the Christian Disciple. Pope Francis is passionate about encouraging all women and men in their encounter with Jesus Christ. As I have said so often over the past two years, the encounter with Jesus, both personal and communal, is not merely a meeting with the CEO of a grand company. Rather, it is an encounter

As I gaze out of my window once more, my mind wanders back to the two eminent saints commemorated in the Basilica, Saint Augustine and Saint Monica…. They were, in fact, very ordinary people who responded freely to the extraordinary gift of faith.

BISHOP’S MESSAGE

with the Eternal Word of Life, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. In the Church we name this “conversion”.

Conversion to Christ ushers in a series of blessings which are signs of the authentic freedom that Jesus gives to us. We know of these blessings from the Gospels according to Matthew (5:1-12) and Luke (6:20-26). In Luke’s version Jesus is not on top of a mountain, as he is in Matthew’s account, but on the level ground with the people. It is a powerful reminder that Jesus accompanies us, that he is near us, and that his closeness is a sign that God never abandons us. Ultimately, the blessings are for us a sign of hope. Hope in the Lord and hope that no matter what life brings, Jesus has lifted humanity from the fall and raised us in readiness for life eternal.

As I gaze out of my window once more, my mind wanders back to the two eminent saints commemorated in the Basilica, Saint Augustine and Saint Monica. Together they offer us great examples of discipleship in Christ and the lived response to the call to follow the Lord. They were, in fact, very ordinary people who responded freely to the extraordinary gift of faith. The faith of the woman and mother and her strength of character provided the son with the opportunity to encounter Jesus, and who in turn went on to help shape and form hearts and minds through the doctrine of the faith for generations to come.

Rome is filled with many such amazing examples of faith. However, dare I suggest that Broken Bay is also blessed with such examples. Many married couples in our community of the Church value the life of faith and are sharing it with their children. Others are living virtuous lives and offering humble service to the community in which they live. Good and generous men are committed to the service of our community as priests and deacons. And thousands of women and men, boys and girls are offering witness to Christ in a sometimes hostile world.

The Eternal City is for Catholic Christians a marvellous reminder of the history of the Church and the unfolding story of salvation. But it can never be a substitute for the fields of mission in which we are called to live and evangelize. As we prepare for the next phase of our pastoral mission, might I encourage every member of the community of the Church to be open to the power of the Holy Spirit. We do not engage in the mission of the Church primarily for our own benefit. We do so in the hope that our small efforts might be a useful pathway for others to encounter Christ, to hear and believe the Good News of salvation, and to be converted by God’s everlasting love, mercy, compassion, justice, and peace.

May the Spirit of God stir our hearts with love for others. May the same Spirit inspire us to speak with truth and sincerity so that we may be counted among the ranks of God’s holy people who seek to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world.

+Anthony

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ACROSS OUR DIOCESE

New Deanery Structure for Broken Bay

By Very Rev Dr David Ranson

Since his appointment in 2019, Bishop Anthony has been considering the significance and configuration of the Deaneries of our Diocese, having sought advice throughout 2021 from the Council of Priests. He was then able to share with all the clergy at their Conference on 4 November 2021 that he would bring to an end the former configuration of Deaneries and implement a new structure, replacing the five current regions with three:

• Central Coast • North Shore • Northern Beaches

Though two of the new Deaneries will be of larger size than currently, Bishop Anthony envisages within the Deaneries ‘hubs of shared ministry’ will emerge which provide more personal opportunities for collaboration. These ‘hubs’ will, for example, bring together clergy who relate to a health care facility (e.g. Gosford Hospital) or to a regional College. The Deaneries, themselves, will suggest which ‘hubs’ may be appropriate.

What is a deanery?

From “The pastoral conversion of the Parish community in the service of the evangelising mission of the Church”, of the Congregation for the Clergy (20 July 2020): 52. It is necessary to recall here that “to foster pastoral care by means of common action, several neighbouring parishes can be joined together in special groups, such as vicariates forane; these are identified under various headings such as “deaneries”,

“pastoral zones” or “prefectures”.

53. The Vicar Forane does not necessarily have to be a Parish

Priest of a specific Parish.

Furthermore, in order to achieve the purpose for which the vicariate is established, his primary responsibility is “to promote and coordinate common pastoral action in the vicariate”, so that it does not remain a purely formal institution. In addition, the Vicar Forane “is obliged to visit the Parishes of his district in accordance with the arrangement made by the diocesan Bishop. In order that he may better fulfil his function and promote common activity among Parishes, the diocesan Bishop may confer upon the Vicar Forane other faculties considered appropriate according to the specific circumstances.

Deaneries are an important means of developing a shared mission across parishes within a particular region and to provide fraternal support to the clergy of the region. They provide the means for sharing the experience of ministry and local initiatives, developing possibilities of shared resources, and supporting the exercise of our priestly ministry. The Dean has a particular role to support the pastoral work of the region, and to provide fraternal and spiritual care of the clergy within the Deanery. The Dean will also have a formal role in Bishop Anthony’s Episcopal Visitation of Parishes and be a member of the Council of Deans which will advise Bishop Anthony on clergy personnel matters.

The ministry of the Deans will be assisted by the Mr Chris Lee, Executive Officer, Secretariat for Clergy

The Diocese of Broken Bay was established in 1986. It covers an area of 2,763 square kilometres and incorporates 26 parishes. The map opposite shows the new Deanery boundaries outlined in bold red, and the parish boundaries outlined in fine red lines. A more detailed map showing schools and churches is currently being reviewed and will be available when completed.

Deaneries are an important means of developing a shared mission across parishes within a particular region and to provide fraternal support to the clergy of the region. They provide the means for sharing the experience of ministry and local initiatives, developing possibilities of shared resources, and supporting the exercise of our priestly ministry.