The Catholic Weekly 3 October 2021

catholicweekly.com.au 2 NEWS 3, October, 2021 Prelate sees hope Archbishop Julian Porteous addresses media in Tasmania in 2017. PHOTO: ARCHDIOCESE OF HOBART 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. Phone (02) 9390 5400 | Vol 73, No 5204. The Catholic Weekly is published by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney ABN 60 471 267 587 and is printed by ACM Australian Community Media, 159 Bells Line of Road, North Richmond NSW, 2754. News Movies, books Archbishop’s homily Editorial & Letters 1-13 8-9 21 24-25 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Kenny (02) 9390 5348 EDITOR Peter Rosengren (02) 9390 5400 REPORTERS Marilyn Rodrigues (02) 9390 5410 Debbie Cramsie (02) 9390 5396 SUBSCRIPTIONS Rita Ng (02) 9390 5411 ADVERTISING AND MARKETING Steve Richards (02) 9390 5404 Katie Clarke (02) 9390 5402 DESIGNERS Renate Cassis Mathew De Sousa Faith in the trajectory of life catch it now at: thiscatholiclife.com.au DOWNLOAD THE OUR FAITH OUR WORKS APP Your one-stop location for Mass and Confession times, spiritual reflections and meditations, podcasts, local Catholic news, the Go Make Disciples mission plan, and much more. To download the app visit ourfaithourworks.org/app or scan the QR Code. Call Katie on (02) 9390 5402 www.catholicjobsonline.com. au Find the career you deserve CONTINUED FROM P1 “I hope that the book also clears the way to a path for- ward - to identify some of the important matters we need to face for the future,” he said. In his chapter ‘Understand- ing the Nature of the Church,’ he writes: “There is a tendency abroad today to view the Church sole- ly as a human institution, an international organisation of good works.” Archbishop Porteous is concerned that the Plena- ry could too easily become caught up with these “out- ward” functions, with “alter- native spiritualities” and pre- occupations - which would deflect or be secondary to the Plenary’s task of attending to authentic renewal of faith and of the Church in Australia. “There is nothing pre- sumed, or automatic or pro- cedural about passing on or nurturing faith in Christ. It is not something that can be done by human hands, or wit or beauty alone,” he observed. The book is designed to be a clear, very portable and ac- cessible overview on some of the definitive issues which the Catholic Church and every Australian Catholic has been facing from the closure of the Second Vatican Council through to our present con- fronting times. “In this time of great strain and stresses, people have been experiencing isolation and uncertain financial and social futures,” he said. “During this time of the pandemic we see how fragile and inadequate relationships, expectations and institutions can be. We have realised that we are not so much in control as we might have assumed.” “It seems to me that it is time for the Church to re-eval- uate the essentials of our Catholic and Christian faith - to return to seeing what is important ‘through authenti- cally spiritual eyes.’” Much of the book hinges around the key notion of “spiritual drama” and the need for “spiritual percep- tion” that is captured in many of the Gospel encounters with Jesus Christ. The Archbishop links these to pivotal documents from the Second Vatican Council, from the modern Popes and from Pope Francis’s positively missionary exhortation Evan- gelii Gaudium . Focusing upon the cen- trality of the personal and the dramatic nature of the Gospel, he said: “This means return- ing to the foundational truth of our faith - to such impor- tant realities as grace, repent- ance and salvation as well as ensuring that in the family, the parish and our preaching: there is the encounter with Je- sus Christ- as the centre of our relationships and our procla- mation, the kerygma.” His words echo both the call to re-evangelisation by the recent pontiffs and the core of the kerygma in Evan- gelii Gaudium where Pope Francis declares: “The centrality of the keryg- ma calls for stressing those elements which are most needed today: it has to ex- press God’s saving love which precedes any moral and reli- gious obligation on our part; it should not impose the truth but appeal to freedom; it should be marked by joy, en- couragement, liveliness and a harmonious balance which will not reduce preaching to a few doctrines which are at times more philosophical than evangelical.” Some of Foundations no doubt reflects the sometimes thankless experiences Arch- bishop Julian has faced as episcopal leader in Australia’s Island State. One issue is that of the rela- tionship between Church and state and the sharp challenges to religious and conscientious freedom with which he has had close and punishing en- counters since taking up his role in 2013. “I don’t think this matter can be ignored at the Plenary,” he told The Catholic Weekly . “We need to be able to be committed to the questions that are critical to our belief and to defend freedom of reli- gious practice and freedom of conscience.” “In this respect too, the Church has an important role as teacher on certain impor- tant matters- not only to those within the faith but also to good people in the wider so- ciety. “We are seeing what I call the “chilling effect” – where people are frozen out of pub- lic conversation. “This threatens to silence people of all beliefs and tra- ditions. It creates a climate of fear – which sees not only public dispute with Catholic beliefs but with the demands that Catholics cooperate not only in actions to which they are inherently opposed - with demands that the Catholic Church police and enforce [The young] want to en- counter the Transcendent One every time they go toMass. They love the saints, they have an orientation to personal holiness and they are drawn to prayer Archbishop Julian Porteous