A contingent of 24 Australians is in Rome to celebrate the Church’s commitment to walking together in hope and mission.

The men and women from across the nation are attending events being held to mark the Jubilee of Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies, including an audience with Pope Leo XIV.

Pope Leo XIV welcomed about 2000 members of synodal teams and participatory bodies in the Paul VI Audience Hall in the Vatican.

The Pope expressed hope the Church in Oceania would continue to grow in communion through the spirit of synodality and stressed the urgency of action to address climate change, poverty and injustice.

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, led a seminar which looked at authentic synodal decision-making processes.

He noted Pope Leo, reflecting on the work of Pope Francis, had described synodality as “a style, an attitude that helps us to be Church by promoting authentic experiences of participation and communion”.

“A truly synodal Church … cannot, or at least should not, be divided into active members and passive members; into those who give and those who receive; into those who act and those who are acted upon,” Archbishop Costelloe said.

“Rather, every member of the Church is meant to be an ‘actor’ in the lives of others and equally someone who is willingly acted upon by others.”

Archbishop Costelloe said examining structure should not occur without also looking at “culture”.

“If you put all your energy and time into the reform of structures without also, and even more insistently, putting energy and time into the question of culture, then in fact very little will change,” he said.

“We must, I believe, keep a number of fundamental things in mind, and first among them is the question of fidelity to the gospel and to our fundamental identity as disciples of Christ.

“Our task is not to remake the Church but to play our part in ensuring that the Church is faithful to its Lord: that we are faithful to the Lord. One of the essential dimensions of that fidelity is our recognition that the Church is fundamentally missionary in nature.”

He said all decision-making bodies needed to ask the question: “How does or will this …  assist those involved in it and those whom it seeks to serve, be credible witnesses to the saving love of God made manifest in Jesus Christ?”

Speaking about authority in the Church, he said leaders needed to ensure consultation processes were well prepared and conducted, open and honest, and clear in terms of their outcomes.

They should also treat the outcomes with great seriousness and deliberation, recognising the action of the Holy Spirit, and committing the Church to the implementation of its recommendations.

The activities during the jubilee celebration also include a pilgrimage and passage through the Holy Door at St Peter’s Basilica, workshops, a Marian prayer vigil and a Mass presided by Pope Leo.

BACKGROUND

Those in attendance include:

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference

Fr Chris de Souza (General Secretary)
Bishop Gregory Bennet (Vice President and Bishop of Sale)
Dr Trudy Dantis (Director, National Centre for Pastoral Research)

Archdiocese of Brisbane
(Queensland)

Deacon Peter Pelicaan
Eric Robinson
Stephanie Jorna

Diocese of Cairns
(Queensland)

Ms Anne Chellingworth

Diocese of Parramatta
(New South Wales)

Mike Schembri
Sr Ailsa Mackinnon

Archdiocese of Perth
(Western Australia)

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB (President ACBC and Archbishop of Perth)
Rev Fr Nelson Po
Mr Daniel Lynch
Dr Debra Sayce
Ms Tara Peters

Diocese of Bunbury
(Western Australia)

Rev Fr Pierangelo dela Cruz Repuyan
Dr Deborah Robertson
Kerrie Merritt

Diocese of Broome
(Western Australia)

Mrs Naomi Martin

Diocese of Geraldton
(Western Australia)

Very Rev Gerard Totanes

Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Melbourne

Fr Sijeesh Pullankunnel
Dr Jaisy Jimmy Arikkatt
Mr Joby Philip
Mr Sojin Sebastian
Dr John Joseph