October 2018, Executive Officer’s report

There was much in October that invited us pause and contemplate. Almost coinciding with the feast of St Francis of Assisi, Patron of Ecology, was the updated IPCC report showing that more strenuous efforts must be made to limit dangerous climate change. On the 22nd the Australian Parliament apologised for child sexual abuse in institutions. The Invictus Games reminded us that injury and disability does not have to finish a person, it can restart them with courage, energy and community. In Rome, the Synod of Bishops met from 3-28 October with many young people to discern their issues.

My October started with a four-day retreat. When back at work, I was greeted with progress at Sophia Education Ministries. I then started preparing papers for the AMPJP Council meeting, participating in an AMPJP teleconference on the National Redress Scheme, reading and consulting with AMPJP members about formation for governance. As always it was a mixture of the profound and mundane.

At my parish church we have a community garden that is tended by parishioners and people from the neighbourhood. I enjoy working and being in the garden. In many ways it is an antidote to much of life’s busyness and complexity. It is rewarding to nurture a plant from seed or seedling to maturity. There is the sense of harmony in freeing the garden from weeds. There is the taste of fresh produce. Crowning all these experiences are the moments of rapture at the beauty of it all. A few months ago, we decided to plant some flowers among the vegies. We did this just so we could enjoy their colour, shape and scent. Now that spring has set in we are enjoying the flowers. In Laudato si’ Pope Francis reminds that beauty is purpose enough:

12. What is more, Saint Francis, faithful to Scripture, invites us to see nature as a magnificent book in which God speaks to us and grants us a glimpse of his infinite beauty and goodness. “Through the greatness and the beauty of creatures one comes to know by analogy their maker” (Wis 13:5); indeed, “his eternal power and divinity have been made known through his works since the creation of the world” (Rom 1:20). For this reason, Francis asked that part of the friary garden always be left untouched, so that wild flowers and herbs could grow there, and those who saw them could raise their minds to God, the Creator of such beauty. Rather than a problem to be solved, the world is a joyful mystery to be contemplated with gladness and praise.

and

97. The Lord was able to invite others to be attentive to the beauty that there is in the world because he himself was in constant touch with nature, lending it an attention full of fondness and wonder. As he made his way throughout the land, he often stopped to contemplate the beauty sown by his Father, and invited his disciples to perceive a divine message in things: “Lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for harvest” (Jn 4:35). “The kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all seeds, but once it has grown, it is the greatest of plants” (Mt 13:31-32).

New events:

• 12 December 2018 How can we seek pathways for a theologically grounded presence of women in Church leadership?
• 21 November 2018 Religious law conference
• Deleted the November 2018 BBI-TAITE and AICD Company Director Courses – now postponed until 2019.
• 1st November 2018 125 year celebrations for St Vincent’s hospital Melb.
• 22-23 July 2019 The Mary Aikenhead Ministries Conference

New website content:

The public news section of the AMPJP website now has the following posts:

• Hearing the call from the Synod on Young People (30 Oct 2018 – also accessible to General members and AMPJP Council members)
• Sophia Education Ministries Board Appointed (18 Oct 2018 – also accessible to General members and AMPJP Council members)
• St Oscar Romero (16 Oct 2018 – also accessible to General members and AMPJP Council members)
• Webinar: Preserving Catholic Identity in Catholic Health Care: Facing Internal and External Pressures and Looking Forward (16 Oct 2018 – also accessible to General members and AMPJP Council members)
• Kate Birrell receives award (12 Oct 2018 – also accessible to General members and AMPJP Council members)
• Love can make the darkness of euthanasia disappear (02 Oct 2018 – also accessible to General members and AMPJP Council members)

Members of AMPJP can access the following news items that I have posted in the Member area of our website:

• External relations policy  (19 Oct 2018  –  accessible to only General members and AMPJP Council members)
• Contact details for AMPJP Member Representatives and Executive Officers (09 Oct 2018  –  accessible to only General members and AMPJP Council members)

Looking forward to significant dates in November 2018:

[1] http://www.un.org/en/sections/observances/international-days/index.html

[2] http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/special-dates-and-events

[3] https://www.catholic.org.au/calendar#year=2018&month=1&day=1&view=month

[4] https://www.harmony.gov.au/events/calendar/