Most Reverend Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv DD STL, Bishop of Parramatta
Address from the official launch of the 2024-2028 Diocese of Parramatta Pastoral Plan for a Synodal Church: “Behold, I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20) at Western Sydney Conference Centre, Penrith
10 August 2024
Dear friends,
It is with a sense of joy, confidence and hope that we have gathered here for the launch of our Pastoral Plan, which is the fruit of a year-long journey of listening, discernment and consensus-building in the Spirit. Actually, the Diocese of Parramatta has committed to the reform of the Second Vatican Council since its inception. Bishop Bede Heather, the first Bishop of the Diocese, took for his motto as This Sacred Council. He instilled within our foundations a vision for the Church rooted in the ecclesiology of the People of God, that is to say, the primacy of baptism. His successors continued to implement this vision in their own ways. Bishop Kevin Manning presided over the construction of St Patrick’s as the most iconic Vatican II-oriented Cathedral in Australia while Archbishop Anthony Fishop OP oversaw the development of “Faith in our Future” project.
For my part, “I sit on the old mat in order to weave the new mat”. I am privileged to build on their legacies. With you, the clergy and people of the Diocese, I have sought to make a wholehearted response to Pope Francis’ invitation to walk the path of synodality. We undertook the most comprehensive, independent and professional Governance Review ever taken in the post-Royal Commission era. This resulted in the establishment or enhancement of our synodal structures and ecclesial institutions. Lay and, in particular, women members thereof provide diverse perspectives and grass-roots input into our governance and decision-making processes. We are the first diocese in Australia to hold a Diocesan Synod following the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia. We show the rest of the Church in Australia a strong innovative civil and ecclesial governance framework for mission in the 21st Century.
As Fr Ormond Rush remarked, synodality is Vatican II in a nutshell. The Diocese of Parramatta has decisively embraced the new, holistic and inclusive way of being Church that the Council pointed to some 60 years ago. Indeed, we can only be a more effective instrument of the Gospel when the totality of God’s People is involved. Pope Francis reminds us that the Church cannot be fully itself without involving everyone as co-responsible for its life and mission. The time has come for Church leaders to engage in an energetic communal search with the faithful in their dioceses if they want to be bold and creative in the task of rethinking the goals, structures, style and methods of evangelisation in their respective communities.
We are all learners in this new way of being Church. There is a certain sense of vulnerability on the part of the ordained as we learn to adopt a more collaborative, humble and listening style of leadership. Many of the laity themselves are accustomed to deferring to their pastors and hence are more comfortable with being simply passive. But this would not lead to effective mission and better outcomes. It is the responsibility of the clergy not simply to exercise the authority of the ordained but also to encourage the co-responsibility of the faithful. Similarly, it is integral to the baptismal consecration for the laity to participate in the mission of the whole Church. In this way, the culture of mutual discernment, consensus and decision-making can lead us, the ordained and laity, to the strengthening of our common mission.
Jesus told his disciples that new wine must be poured into wineskins. The way of being Church that the Holy Spirit has inspired us to embrace necessitates a collective conversion. The clergy will need to learn to listen to the sensus fidei and the laity will need to take responsibility as agents of evangelisation. Together, we commit ourselves to the task of discerning the voice of the Holy Spirit. If synodality is a truly constitutive dimension of the Church, then the sense of the faithful must be given expressions in a way that witnesses to the dynamism of communion and inspires all ecclesial decisions.
We have great challenges ahead of us as we form ourselves into the new wineskins capable of containing and sharing Christ the new wine. However, we also have the assurance of the Lord who promised to be with us always to the end of time. This consciousness, deepened by our lived experience of the synodal Church, has been the inspiration for the vision and theme of our pastoral plan: “Behold, I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20).
Encouraged by this promise and strengthened by the encounter with Jesus, let us rise to walk the journey of participation, communion and mission. Let us plough the fields for the seeds of the synodal Church to grow and bear fruit. Let us spread the good seeds and be champions of synodality in our respective environments. Let us pray that we may grow through chaos and uncertainty in order to be more aligned with God’s purpose. May Mary who listened to God’s Word and acted in sync with the Holy Spirit accompany us on the road of discipleship and witness. This week, we also honour Mary of the Cross MacKillop, the Patron Saint of our Diocese. May she intercede for us as we endeavour to embody the Gospel for our times just as she did for hers in trusting, generous and prophetic ways.
Brothers and sisters,
With the Spirit of Christ accompanying us on the new journey, I am pleased to formally launch The Diocesan Pastoral Plan for a Synodal Church for implementation in the Church of Parramatta.
