The Southern Cross  |  July 2019

Plenary themes announced

The Plenary Council 2020 has moved into its next phase of preparation with the announcement on Pentecost Sunday of the National Themes for Discernment that emerged from a historic process of listening to the voices of more than 222,000 people.

Almost 17,500 submissions, from individuals and groups of all sizes, addressed the Plenary Council’s central question: ‘What do you think God is asking of us in Australia at this time?’

From these responses, the National Centre for Pastoral Research pinpointed more than 100 recurring subject areas.

“In some ways, those subject areas described what one might call ‘the messy reality’ of Catholic life in Australia today. The voices of the faithful help all of us to understand something of the historical experience and the current reality of the Catholic Church in Australia,” said Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, president of the Plenary Council.

“We worked to discern what people were yearning for as we move into this next stage of preparing for the Plenary Council.”

Archbishop Costelloe said there was a clear desire expressed for the Church to renew herself and focus on the person of Jesus Christ.

“Accordingly, the six National Themes for Discernment flow from that primary goal of being a Christ-centred community of people,” he explained.

The themes are: Missionary and Evangelising; Inclusive, Participatory and Synodal; Prayerful and Eucharistic; Humble, Healing and Merciful; A Joyful, Hope-Filled and Servant Community, and Open to Conversion, Renewal and Reform.