25 Sep 2019

Writing and Discernment Groups draw on Church's talent

CathNews September 26, 2019

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CathNews | September 26 2019

Writing and Discernment Groups draw on Church's talent

Seventy people from across the country – including a dozen bishops – will serve on the six Discernment and Writing Groups that will help the Plenary Council build towards its first session in October 2020.

As part of “Listening and Discernment”, the second phase of preparing for the Council, Discernment and Writing Groups will have the important task of preparing papers for consideration by Council delegates.

Each group will consider one of the six National Themes for Discernment, which invite people to consider how God is calling the People of God to be a Christ-centred Church in Australia that is: 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.

The groups’ work will be supplemented by communal discernment groups, which are being encouraged to meet around the country and contribute to the ongoing Council journey.

Plenary Council president Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB said the bishops and Council facilitation team had a challenging task to choose the 58 people – lay, religious and clerical – who would sit on the Discernment and Writing Groups from a pool of more than 400 applications.

The appointments came after a thorough process of reviewing all applications received against criteria in the advertised role descriptions, then scheduling more than 100 interviews conducted by six panels (one for each theme) located across Australia, and finalising the membership in consultation with the Australian bishops and other referees.

Click here to read more.

Plenary Council website

 190925 - Plenary Council 2020 - Writing and Discernment Groups draw on Church's talent.pdf

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