ACROSS OUR DIOCESE
BBN / JUNE 2020
Plenary Council National Discernment and Writing Groups for Plenary Council 2020 Earlier this year, the national discernment and writing groups for the Plenary Council worked intensively and invoked the Holy Spirit in the pursuit of forming the papers on their appointed national theme of discernment. These groups were comprised of lay people, clergy and religious from all over Australia. Their written submissions will be considered as part of the preparation for the first session of the Plenary Council session. The Discernment Papers were published on Pentecost Sunday and are available to read on the website: https://plenarycouncil.catholic.org.au/ continuing-the-journey-of-discernment/ Below are excerpts of the personal experiences and challenges of three of the Broken Bay members as they journeyed and participated in their communal discernment and writing processes.
Discernment and Writing Group Inclusive, Participatory and Synodal John Honner, 73 The “Inclusive, Participatory and Synodal” discernment and writing group first took shape via an induction in Sydney in October 2019. People were in good spirits if apprehensive. Everyone seemed ready to have a go at a daunting task. We tried to model a synodal process, listening to lots of different perspectives, beginning with reflective prayer and later moving to discernment. We were guided by the concerns expressed in the Final Report on the Listening and Dialogue Phase. We had disagreements, confusion and
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reality checks, to be expected in communal discernment. I learnt to appreciate all the particular concerns as being of equal importance. I was very impressed by the efforts every member of our group made to participate fully in our sharing. I sensed this was a work of the Holy Spirit. Putting our report together was a complicated exercise. Gradually, with attentive reading of drafts and painstaking coordination by our chair, our discernments were drawn to a point of satisfactory, even remarkable, completion. We were able to move beyond having competing priorities. It became clear, in the first place, that everything should be based on the way Jesus was inclusive and participatory. Priority should then be given to the inclusion of the poor and vulnerable—both persons and communities. From my perspective, it seems that a major challenge for the Church in Australia is to transcend differences and to seek unity in diversity, with greater openness to the rich and various gifts of the Spirit in the community, because that is the synodal way.
Discernment and Writing Group – Joyful, Hope-filled and Servant Community Deacon Adrian Gomez, 46 Over the last year I have had the pleasure and privilege of being a part of the “Joyful, Hope-filled and Servant Community” Writing and Discernment Group. Our group represented almost every state and territory in Australia: from cities, to regional areas, to the outback. I jumped into the discernment process expecting it to be like a regular committee – with an agenda, discussion and outcomes. Instead I found it to be a prayerful experience, with deep listening, reflection and sharing on the submissions
