catholicweekly.com.au 2 NEWS 7, March, 2021 “THE NEED for the deep, spiritual conversion of all members of the Church stands out” as a key theme of the In- strumentum Laboris docu- ment for Australia’s Plena- ry Council due to commence in October, said one of its au- thors. Entitled Continuing the Journey, the working paper for Australia’s fifth Plenary Coun- cil, was released February 25 by Australia’s Catholic bishops. “There’s a need for a greater expression of the co-respon- sibility of all the baptised if the Church [in Australia] is to take the mission to evange- lise seriously in the decades ahead,” Daniel Ang, Director of the Archdiocese of Sydney’s Centre for Evangelisation and a co-author of the Instrumen- tum Laboris said. “And what I think the docu- ment recognises is that while we could well reform some of our structures and policies, ultimately even these changes will not bear fruit without the conversion of the relationships within the Church and with others beyond the Church that give these reforms life or pos- sibility.” “I think it clearly delineates the fact that the renewal of the church will be achieved by centering ourselves in Christ and facing the changing cir- cumstances of our time with fidelity and creativity,” he told The Catholic Weekly, newspa- per of the Archdiocese of Syd- ney. The 76 page document, which is currently awaiting approval from the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops in Rome, was released online in Bishops release Council’s working document for October session ¾ Benjamin Conolly Release a major step for Plenary Australia by the Plenary’s Na- tional Facilitation Team and will serve as the key framework and stimulus for discussion at the coming Council. The Plenary’s first session is due to commence in October. Mr Ang said the Instru- mentum Laboris is more than a mere summary. It is “a syn- thesis that seeks to integrate the experience of Catholics in Australia, the experience and insights of the Church as com- municated in tradition, and with an ear to what the Spirit is inviting of the Church to be faithful to Jesus in the present,” he said. In addition to Mr Ang, a married lay man who has headed the Archdiocese of Sydney’s Centre for Evange- lisation since June 2020, the writing group included Plena- ry President, Archbishop Tim- Daniel Ang, Director of the Archdiocese of Sydney’s Centre for Evangelisation, is one of the authors of the Instrumentum Laboris document released on 25 February. He is pictured with his wife Sara, son Noah and daughter Isabella. PHOTO:ALPHONSUS FOK,THE CATHOLICWEEKLY othy Costelloe SDB of Perth, Dr Trudy Dantis, Director of the National Centre for Pas- toral Research, and Fr Kevin Lenehan, Master of Catholic Theological College in Mel- bourne. Archbishop Costelloe wel- comed the document’s release after a six month drafting pro- cess. “This is an exciting step for- ward and we take it together, amidst a time of great change. More than 220,000 people participated in the first stag- es of Listening and Dialogue, and those voices can be heard clearly in the working docu- ment,” he said. “As writers, we drew inspi- ration from Scripture, writings and teachings of the Church including the documents of the Second Vatican Council, encyclicals and papal exhorta- tions, Australian bishops’ pas- toral letters and more.” Plenary Council facilita- tor Lana Turvey-Collins said an accompanying reflection guide has been developed to help Catholics throughout the country engage with the In- strumentum Laboris and to maintain a national focus for the Council. “A document has the most value when it is brought to life through dialogue and re- sponse,” she said. “In this particular time of changing norms in socie- ty and the emerging reality of post-COVID life, it is in- creasingly important to have as many faith communities, groups, agencies and individ- uals participate in this contin- ued discernment as possible. Every single person is needed for God’s mission today.” While the first session of the Australian Plenary was planned to commence in Oc- tober in Adelaide it was moved online due to the COVID pan- demic. However organisers are hopeful the planned second session, due to be held in July 2022 in Sydney, will still go ahead as planned in the wake of the rollout of COVID vac- cines which commenced in Australia on 22 February. With the Church facing sig- nificant challenges in areas such as religious freedom and other legislative issues around the nation in recent years, to- gether with declining rates of participation in Church life on the part of Catholics, the Plenary is expected to have a far-reaching effect on the life of the Church in Australia. The last Plenary was held in 1937. DANIEL ANG P20 I n this edition Our story begins in 1839 with the Australasian Chronicle, continuing with the Freeman’s Journal in 1850. Level 13, Polding Centre, 133 Liverpool Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. 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