Diocesan Assembly planning under way

About 400 people are expected to attend a Diocesan Assembly in September to reflect on the life of the local Church community, in conjunction with ongoing discernment for the Plenary Council taking place at a national level in October.

All parishes and migrant communities will have an opportunity to contribute to the Assembly in the preparation phase. A video is being produced for screening at Masses as the basis for feedback that will be collated and discussed at the Assembly.

In the video Archbishop Patrick O’Regan asks everyone to be part of the process of “us sitting down as a family, talking about what’s really important, maybe airing our grievances, thinking about what we can do to make a difference in our world today”.

“This is not just something where we’re looking inwardly, we’re trying to look outwardly…as missionary disciples,” he says.

“And we all have a part to play in that. Together we can make a difference.”

The Assembly will commence on Friday evening, September 17, and continue on Saturday September 18 at Cabra College, Cumberland Park.

The Adelaide Archdiocese will join with the Diocese of Port Pirie and the Diocese of Darwin to form a province hub for the Plenary Council from October 3 to 10. Plenary delegates from the three dioceses will meet in person and link up with delegates from other hubs around the country via a live video link.

The delegation from the Adelaide Archdiocese includes Archbishop O’Regan, Vicar General Fr Philip Marshall and lay representatives Maddy Forde, Monica Conway, Ian Cameron, Julian Nguyen and Kiara Ryan.