Listen To What The Spirit Is Saying…

The voices in the Listening and Dialogue submissions inspired The National Themes for Discernment, which have served as guides as we went through Phrase II: Listening and Discernment. Catholics all over Australia continue to participate in discerning with prayerful hearts and minds. Discernment will go on indefinitely. We invite you to continue getting together with your community for sessions and sending us your responses via the website. With COVID-19 this has it’s challenges, perhaps some form of online meeting can be arranged.

A new resource, Reflection Guide for responding to the Thematic Discernment Papers has been developed with the help of the Diocese of Sale, Archdiocese of Brisbane and Archdiocese of Darwin to guide a reflection on the six Thematic Discernment Papers.

Reflection Guide for responding to the Thematic Discernment Papers
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The Six Discernment and Writing Groups were tasked with writing papers to bring some major themes and issues into focus.  These Thematic papers have been published and can be viewed below.

Thematic Papers
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The papers will be central to the preparation of the “instrumentum laboris” or working paper for the Plenary Council, and the agenda for Assembly 1.

In the Ballarat diocese we are asking people from around the diocese to write about their feelings on the discernment papers and the first six can be read here:

HOW IS GOD CALLING US TO BE A CHRIST-CENTRED CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA THAT IS:

Inclusive, Participatory & Synodal? by Felicity Knobel
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Prayerful & Eucharistic? by Brian Storey
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Humble, Healing and Merciful? by Marie Shaddock
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A Joyful, Hope-Filled & Servant Community? by William Lowry
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Missionary & Evangelising? by Kate Andrews
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Open to Conversion, Renewal and Reform? by Frank Sheehan
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