from the ACBC Plenary

pathways, DECEMBER 2008

 

 

A second CRA representative will be appointed to the NCEC.

 

Another Religious, Bishop Joseph  Oudeman OFM CAP (Auxiliary, Archdiocese of Brisbane) has been appointed the ACBC delegate for Eucharist Congresses.

 

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference held its plenary meeting at Mary Mackillop Place, North Sydney, from November 24 - 28.

 

CRA is invited to observe.  President Sr Clare Condon SGS and treasurer Fr Tim Brennan MSC attended the full conference while CRA vice-president Fr Tim Norton SVD was able to attend one day.

 

 

The new Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Guiseppe Lazzarotto, delivered the opening address in which he praised the 'grace-filled' events of World Youth Day and said it was of the "utmost importance that the spirit of WYD was kept alive through the creative and appropriate initiatives aimed at fostering and renewing pastoral youth ministry".

 

Throughout the week the Bishops also received briefings from World Youth Day organisers, during which they looked back on the event and also looked to the future, with a particular emphasis on the XT3 social networking website. The Bishops heard that XT3 now has more than 40,000 members and is proving to be a popular and effective tool for youth ministry and for connecting with young people who might not be Church-goers.

 

The Bishops formally thanked Cardinal Pell, Bishop Anthony Fisher OP and the staff of the Archdiocese of Sydney for all that they contributed to the organisation

and conduct of World Youth Day and approved a blueprint for the future of youth ministry co-ordination.

 

The Bishops heard from Sr Anne Derwin RSJ and Sr Maria Casey RSJ on the progress of the canonisation process for Blessed Mary Mackillop. The Sisters said the process continued slowly and painstakingly, with a great deal of attention to detail from the Roman authorities. There was still no indication of when the process might be completed. The Bishops were informed that Sr Maria had been appointed Postulator of the Cause for Blessed Mary Mackillop, at the request of the former Postulator, Fr Paul Gardiner SJ, who felt he was no longer able to travel to Rome as often as required.

 

 

 

The Prime Minister's National Apology to the Stolen Generations was a great moment for indigenous Australians, but the Church had to be active in ensuring that reconciliation remained on the agenda, the chair of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Commission, Elsie Heiss told the Bishops.

 

Mrs Heiss and NATSICC's ACT representative Kerrie Hogan were invited to address the Plenary Meeting to mark the significance of the apology and to give an overview of the activities occurring in Aboriginal Ministry. She said the apology meant a lot to her personally because her mother was part of the Stolen Generations, having been taken from her own mother at age 5.

 

"That day down there in Canberra, I felt pain and joy," Mrs Heiss told the Bishops.  "We felt, as we visited our mother and aunty's graves, that we could move on now. So the apology means more than just words to me and my family."

 

Mrs Heiss also said that in-depth consultation with indigenous communities needed to take place on the question of the future direction of the Government Intervention in Indigenous communities.

 

"Everyone agrees that intervention was required in areas of child protection, health and education, but consultation was the main thing that didn't happen and it still isn't happening," she said.  "It's gone flat. Where to now? We need to come together more and we need to listen to each other. Most importantly, we need to keep reconciliation on the agenda."

 

Ms Hogan gave an outline of NATSICC activities and the work of Aboriginal Catholic Ministry around Australia, which included sacramental programs, youth programs, community faith gatherings and hospital chaplaincy.

 

Following on from the theme of World Youth Day, the NATSICC triennial conference will be held in Brisbane from September 21-22, 2009, with the theme, "The Holy Spirit in this Land".  The conference will feature a special youth assembly.

 

"We want to young people to come along as leaders," Mrs Heiss said. "Youth are so important to our community, whether black or white."

 

 

 

 

 

The introduction of the new English translation of the Latin Missal edged another step closer, with a secret ballot by the bishops giving the required canonical approval to a number of liturgical texts.

 

The Bishops approved the text of the "Grey Books", or the final translation from the International Commission for English in the Liturgy (ICEL) on the Votive Mass, Masses for the Dead, The Commons, the Proper of Saints, the Introductory Documents, Antiphons and Appendices. These were the final Grey Books to be issued and signify that the task of translating the Missal is now complete.

 

Chairman of the Bishops Commission for Liturgy, Archbishop Mark Coleridge, said that while it was impossible to predict exactly when the new Missal would be published, current indications were that it might be towards the end of 2010.

 

the  ACBC will petition the Holy See for the inclusion of the feast day of St Marcellin Champagnat into the Australian calendar, and that this feast day be observed as a Memorial each year on June 6.

 

The conference also will request the Holy See to confirm that the designation of the observance of Australia Day and Anzac Day be afforded in the Order of Precedence the rank of a Memorial for both days.

 

 

 

Victoria's radical new abortion laws were the topic of a lengthy discussion by the Bishops. They heard from Archbishop Denis Hart and the other Victorian bishops about their experiences in vigorously opposing the legislation in a range of different forums.

 

Later, the Bishops Commission for Pastoral Life spoke about the successful Walking with Love symposiums held around the nation this year and presented each Bishop with a copy of the Walking with Love DVD.

 

The Walking with Love program takes a personal look at the issue of unexpected pregnancy. The program aims to encourage the Catholic community and all people of goodwill to increase their support for vulnerable pregnant women, and to reach out to those women, their husbands, partners and families, who have been touched by an abortion experience.   for more information about Walking with Love and order forms click here

 

 

 

The Bishops Commission for Doctrine and Morals plans to publish a series of easy-to-read pamphlets on key areas of doctrine.

 

Six pamphlets will be prepared by the members of the Commission, Cardinal Pell, Archbishop Coleridge, Bishop Christopher Prowse, Bishop Fisher. Bishop Peter Elliott also will prepare one of the pamphlets.

 

They will be released to coincide with the feasts of Easter, Pentecost, the Assumption, Exaltation of the Cross, Christ the King and Christmas.

 

The pamphlets will examine the subjects of Christology, Truth in the Church, Christian understanding of the Body, Moral Truths, Eschatology and Salvation.

 

The commission has also commissioned Dr Anne Hunt to develop a booklet on the Trinity, directed to a general audience, including secondary students. It is expected that the booklet will be published during 2009.

 

 

 

The General Secretary of the National Council of Churches Australia, Rev John Henderson, has resigned as he has been appointed as the Principal of Australian Lutheran College in Adelaide.  At lunch on Wednesday, November 26, the Bishops Commission for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations expressed appreciation for all that he had done for the NCCA.

 

 

 

 

At the conclusion of the plenary peeting, the Bishops Commission for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations met with members of the General Synod Ecumenical Relations Commission of the Anglican Church.  Discussion centred on a way forward for the Australian Anglican-Roman Catholic Conversation (AUSTARCC), as well as on the document, Growing Together in Unity and Mission, the document of the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM).

 

The Anglican Bishops also spoke of their experience at the Lambeth Conference.

 

 

 

 

 

this report in full and media releases issued during the plenary meeting

Apostolic Nuncio recalls "grace-filled experience of WYD" in Sydney

Composers invited to submit new Mass settings for Australia

Bishops approve post WYD youth ministry blueprint