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Our Vision & Mission
Theological
Principles
The Synod, acting on behalf of the
diocesan community, resolved that the following principles be
used as the basis of our life together and of our parish and diocesan
pastoral planning activities:
Seek First
the Kingdom of God (Mt 6:33)
Our mission is to evangelise – to proclaim Christ, the Good News of God's love for all. All our
pastoral activities must, therefore, both flow from our personal
response to Christ and be carried out in the spirit of the Gospel.
The Kingdom of God is like a
treasure hidden in a field (Mt13), like a net that gathers fish
of ever kind (Mt 20:1) ... The blind see, the deaf hear, the sick
are healed, the hungry are fed, the lowly are exalted, the mourners
are comforted, prisoners are set free ... The Kingdom of God is
within you (Lk 17:21)
The Equality of
All Believers
All members of the church through
baptism have the same right and duty to participate in the life
and mission of the Church and should be actively encouraged to
participate in that mission.
All baptised in Christ, you have
all clothed yourselves in Christ, and there are no more distinctions
between Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female, but all
of you are one in Christ Jesus. (Gal 3:27,28)
Faith Development
is a Life-Long Process
To grow to Christian maturity and
participate fully in Christ's mission, all of us – clergy
and religious as well as lay men and women, youth and children
– must continually deepen our understanding of the faith
through formation that is faithful to the Scriptures and Sacred
Tradition.
Formation is not the privilege
of a few but the right and duty of all ... Possibilities of formation
should be proposed to all, especially the poor who can be a source
of formation for all. (Pope John Paul II, CL63)
The Dignity of
the Human Person
The Church is called to heal, liberate
and promote the growth of persons into maturity in Christ. Structures
and programmes exist in order to serve persons, not persons to
serve structures or programmes. All our pastoral activity should
be marked by a concern for persons affected by it.
I came that they may have life
and have it abundantly. (Jn 10:10)
Diversity of Gifts
Each community must seek out, recognise
and utilise the diversity of gifts, experience, knowledge and
competence amongst its members. It is better that many people
be involved, using their particular talents and abilities, than
that a few try to do everything.
Allotting his gifts to everyone
according as he wills (1 Cor 12:11). God distributes special graces
among the faithful of every rank. By these gifts he makes them
fit and ready to undertake the various tasks or offices advantageous
to the upbuilding of the Church ... These gifts are to be received
with thanksgiving. (LG12)
Diversity of Ministries,
Unity of Purpose
We must respect and support the diversity
of roles and functions in the community, those of the laity as
well as those of the ordained ministers. The unity of purpose
of all ministers is expressed in their union with the Bishop who
as principal minister of the Eucharist – the Sacrament of
unity – is the Chief Pastor of the diocese.
For as in one body we have many
members, and all the members do not have the same function so
we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members
one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace
given to us, let us use them ... (Rom 12:4-6)
Servant Leadership
Leadership at all levels within the
Church is a ministry of service to God's People.
The rulers of the gentiles lord
it over them ... It must not be so among you for whoever would
be great among you must be your servant and whoever would be first
among you must be your slave even as the Son of man came not to
be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
(Mt 20:25-28)
Decision-Making
by Discernment
In keeping with what it means to
be and to build Church, we seek to arrive at decisions which all
can accept gracefully and support wholeheartedly (even if some
wish the decision had been different) because they know the group
honestly searched together for the Spirit of God in and for the
life of the community.
Discernment of the Spirit ...
listens to others so as to learn, is sensitive to all approaches,
encourages collaboration rather than competition and aims not
at majority vote but consensus. It recognises that each participant
has a part of the truth and a share of the wisdom by reason of
each one's unique experience of God in life, union with Christ
and gifts of the Spirit. The process also recognises the right
of each person to contribute his or her part without which the
whole picture will not be presented and the whole wisdom of the
spirit will not be available. (Archbishop F Carroll, Canberra-Goulburn
Synod, 1989)
Read the Signs
of the Times
To fulfil our mission in today's
world and become a credible sign of God's love for all people,
we must discover the signs of God's presence and purpose in our
culture and in our world. Reading the signs of God for our time
means being open to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church
through the hearts and minds of his people.
The joys and hopes, the griefs
and anxieties of people of this age, especially those who are
poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, griefs
and anxieties of the followers of Christ. (GS 1)
Concern for Ecumenism
In keeping with the Lord's own prayer
that all his followers be one, we acknowledge the need to deepen
our bonds with all our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The concern for restoring unity
involves the whole Church, faithful and clergy alike. (UR5)
Download a PDF copy of our Diocesan Pastoral Plan.
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