The Catholic Weekly 17 July 2022

catholicweekly.com.au 2 17, July, 2022 PLENARY 2022 AS THE four year process of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia came to an end, both positives and negatives were evident, Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP of Sydney said in an interview on its final day. He said he was cautiously optimistic about its achieve- ments. “There’s been a direct en- gagement with some of the really ‘hard’ issues, like In- digenous issues, child sexual abuse and the place of wom- en in the Church,” he told The Catholic Weekly newspaper . “Those discussions were sometimes very emotional and potentially very divisive. Yet in the end there was a high level of agreement on most of them. “It’s much better that such matters were confronted di- rectly rather than presenting a kind of faux unity by avoiding the hard issues,” he said. “The assembly has offered some good thoughts on litur- gy, marriage catechumenate, youth ministry, formation programs for lay leaders in- cluding those in rural and re- mote areas, and stewardship of the earth.” Other positives included a much greater appreciation of the place of the Eastern Catholic churches in Australia than has been seen in Church gatherings before now. It was always going to be difficult to hear, distil and then do justice to contribu- tions from near a quarter of a million people down to two one-week assemblies and the processes in-between. And under-representation of ‘or- dinary’ priests and indeed ordinary Catholics , including overseas-born ones, was also potentially distorting accord- ing to Archbishop Fisher. “Yet in the end, by God’s grace, the centre held.” Here the Archbishop was adverting Last week’s historicmoment in the life of the Church in Australia ¾ Peter Rosengren Plenary pluses, to divisions that threatened to splinter the assembly, such as the protest by 60 or so mem- bers onWednesday 6 July over failed motions on women and the Church. “Much has been made of the division and drama of the week and that might frighten some and delight others. But I think the remarkable thing is that it did not break the Church. It did not lead to a walkout or schism or an alter- native assembly being set up down the road as we’ve seen at different times in history,” he said. “In the end with more prayer and reflection we end- ed up with a much improved chapter on the dignity and roles of women, and while some proposals on other matters failed to receive the necessary support to go for- ward, others were adopted, texts were revised, and most matters received a very high rate of acceptance among the lay members and the pastors. The Holy Spirit was evidently active in all this.” The years of process and the past week of assembly had demonstrated that with good will and discerning hearts there can be positive outcomes even when dealing with controversial issues. “There’s something in the idea of creative tension, at times greater wisdom comes from openly discussing issues rather than papering over the cracks. Sometimes it’s impor- Everyone will find some good things in the final decrees when they come out, and people should look for those, look for inspiration and encouragement in their own missionary discipleship.” Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP I n this edition News Movies, books Archbishop’s homily Editorial & Letters 1-11 8-9 21 24-25 EDITOR Peter Rosengren (02) 9390 5400 REPORTERS Marilyn Rodrigues (02) 9390 5410 Debbie Cramsie (02) 9390 5396 Adam Wesselinoff (02) 9390 5400 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 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 5243 The Catholic Weekly is published by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney ABN 60 471 267 587 and is printed by Spotpress Pty Ltd, 24-26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville NSW 2204. “In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousand fold in the future. When we neither punish nor reproach evildoers, we are not simply protecting their trivial old age, we are thereby ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generations.” - Alexander Solzhenitsyn - The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956 QUOTABLE 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. PUBLISHED24 APRIL Enquiries call Steve (02) 9390 5404 CatholicWeekly The