Plenary reflections #1: Fr Tony Percy, VG
After a week of online sessions and live-streamed Masses, Archbishop Costelloe, the Council’s president, adjourned the Council’s first assembly and summoned its 278 members to gather again in July 2022 for the second and final assembly.
To gain insight from a local level, the Catholic Voice asked each Archdiocesan member to summarize their reactions to the first assembly and to reflect on their hopes as the Australian Church moves forward in the Plenary process.
Buzz Word
The new buzz word is ‘Synodality.’
It means ‘walking together.’
‘Walking’ is, as we well know, a symbol of the moral life. The letters of Paul are helpful in this regard.
According to St. Thomas Aquinas, without a reasonably developed emotional life, the moral life – the integration of emotions, will and mind – becomes difficult. You might have experienced this ‘integrating process’ while walking physically?
The other part of synodality is ‘together.’ The virtual Plenary Council rendered this difficult.
But there was a lot of goodwill and with goodwill much can be done.
The experience was frustrating, but not just because of the virtual format.
A PC is about renewal of faith, pastoral outreach, morals and way of life.
Input on this helpful paradigm was lacking.
There were plenty of female and male theologians at the PC who could have provided needed pastoral and theological knowledge, and methodology.
Take child abuse.
We know about the horror of this – the damage done, the shame we feel.
But we don’t know about what is happening now in the Church.
Why would we not have had those who work in Professional Standards Offices address us with the facts? We really need them ‘walking together’ with us.
How do we try and help survivors?
What are our procedures and policies now to avert further catastrophic behaviour?
Do we know that the Church in Australia is spending $36 million per year on Child Protection? I did the sums in 2019.
I am hopeful for PC July 2022, but we need more direction so as to utilise our time, money and talent more effectively.
- Tomorrow we hear from Emeritus Professor John Warhurst AO
Clear and hopefully effective critique Fr.
I agree with you Fr Tony,
From reading the comments of other participants, there seems to be a feeling that the major issues facing our Australian Church have not being addressed in this first Session. I was a school boy during Vatican 11.Little did I comprehend the momentous changes that the Council would bring to the Church, although later conservative Popes reversed some of these changes . I live in hope that the necessary reforms will come to pass despite the opposition of the conservatives to change.