2008

Thursday 27th March 2008
Local Church Leaders Commit to Greater Unity

An historic agreement between the Catholic Dioceses of Maitland-Newcastle and Broken Bay and the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle will be signed next Wednesday 2 April at Christ Church Cathedral in Newcastle.

Anglican Bishop of Newcastle Dr Brian Farran describes the agreement, known as a Covenant, as “a trail blazing event in the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches in Australia. The significance of this Covenant is not to be underestimated,” he said.

The Tri-Diocesan Covenant commits the three dioceses to a series of joint initiatives ranging from an annual Bishops’ Dialogue to the exploration of possibilities for the sharing of church resources.

Catholic Bishop of Broken Bay, David Walker said, “This Covenant is a pledge to continue the things that we are doing together, and a commitment to be open to further involvement in the future. It is also a challenge to our respective communities to enter, formally or informally, into closer relationships with other Christians.”

In the spirit of the agreement, representatives from the three dioceses have worked collaboratively on all aspects of the Covenant, from its content and wording to the ceremony at which it will be signed.

The ceremony will feature an indigenous lament about current division and differences between churches, and a focus on continuing reconciliation and hope for the future. It will also include a ritual signing of the covenant with each parish given a replica to take back to its own community.

Bishop Brian said that the notion of covenant has its basis in the bible. “It is central to the Hebrew Scriptures, or Old Testament. The word “testament” means covenant, so calling the scriptures the Old and New testaments highlights just how important the sense of covenant is to our Christian tradition and faith.”

Reflecting on the covenant, Catholic Bishop of Maitland-Newcastle Michael Malone said, “Our covenant to each other as dioceses comes out of national and international movements and priorities within our respective Churches to work towards greater unity.

“I think most ecumenical people would say that we want to get to a point where we respect each other’s culture and tradition, we respect the liturgical practice of each one, with a sense that ‘I’m prepared to learn from you, and I hope you’re prepared to learn from me.’ Who knows where that attitude might lead?”

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