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Lismore Diocesan Renewal Journey
Embracing change
To create a vision for the future
In 2020, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference established a Plenary Council (the first since 1937) about the future of the Catholic Church in Australia focusing on the key questions: What are we called to do? Who are we called to be? How do we need to change?
“I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security. I do not want a Church concerned with being at the centre and then ends by being caught up in a web of obsessions and procedures.” Pope Francis, Gaudium Evangelli
In December 2021, Bishop Greg Homeming, in consultation with the Council of Priests, commissioned a Renewal of the Diocese of Lismore as a response to the Plenary Council. The Renewal’s goal is to provide a focused way forward in the face of the many challenges in parishes and the diocese.
Bishop Greg’s video about the Renewal Journey
Through the Renewal we are working together seeking answers to some complicated questions:
- How can we sustain and strengthen our parish communities?
- How do we continue to identify the needs of the people in our parish and find ways to assist them?
- How can we support clergy, parishes and the other works of the diocese?
- What should the mission and focus of our parishes and diocese be as we move further into the 21st century?
- How well are the structures and mechanisms in the diocese working? What could be improved?
The Renewal, which is ongoing, is involving thousands of people from throughout the Diocese including priests, parishioners, school leaders and teachers, aged care and hospital staff, youth ministry teams and many others involved in the wide range of Diocesan ministries.
The Holy Spirit guides us where God wants us to be, not to where our own ideas and personal tastes would lead us. “There is no need to create another Church, but to create a different Church”. Pope Francis
