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WHEN CHURCHES JOIN - 6. General Documents

Local Ecumenism Information Kit
- Developed by the Local Ecumenism Working Group, NSW Ecumenical Council, October 2000
Phone (02) 9299 2215 for more information.

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Appendix 2. Understanding the Member Churches of the NSW Ecumenical Council

2.9 The Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church in Australia has convict origins, since over one quarter of all those transported were Irish Catholics. Mass was celebrated first in 1803, but it was not until 1820 that a continuous ministry commenced among Roman Catholics. Before that the community in Sydney was led by lay-people and since then, especially in country areas, many communities were organised by both religious sisters and lay-people, with only occasional visits by priests.

From these small beginnings the Catholic community in Australia has grown to 4.5 million members, gathering in over 1,400 parishes. The Sunday Mass (Eucharist) is the focal point of all Catholic communities. There are parishes also for a significant number of Christians from the Eastern Churches: Maronites, Melkites, Ukrainians and chaplaincies for those serving in the military forces. All of these units are grouped into dioceses, of which there are 32, each led by a Bishop or Archbishop.

The Roman Catholic Church is a member church of the NSW Ecumenical Council, as each of the eleven dioceses in NSW/ACT, between 1990 and 1998, took its own decision to join the council.

In recent decades, the Catholic Church has undergone considerable self-reflection. While this process pre-dated the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), that Council was certainly a watershed for the Church. One of the greatest shifts was to see the Church as "mystery" before looking at its structure. So the Church was described as a place of meeting between humanity and God, "the household of faith". Through the use of images, such as the Body of Christ, sheepfold, vineyard, temple of God, the notion of 'communion' emerged as the controlling vision of the Church. As such, the Church is confessed to be part of God's plan in gathering a people to himself; it is a sacrament of unity with God and of men and women among themselves.

Central to Catholic theology is the sacramental principle, that the divine presence is accessible to people through the material, through communities, places, objects, the world at large. Jesus Christ is the great sacrament of encounter with God, and the Church in turn is the place where we encounter Christ. In the specific sacraments (Initiation, Eucharist, Marriage, Orders, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick), God's presence is effective to persons within the worshipping community.

Many Roman Catholics are uneasy with the term 'Roman', but in fact the See of Rome assumed a place as the centre of catholic communion at an early date and historically has functioned as a focus of unity, with the bishop of Rome, the Pope, exercising among the other bishops of the Church a primacy which Catholics believe stems from Christ's promise to Peter. The claim made by the Roman Catholic Communion to historical continuity with the Church founded by Jesus Christ is not one that other Christians can easily accept, but today is put with more humility and consciousness of failure on the part of many members.

Catholic spirituality is very comprehensive, embracing spiritual mothers and fathers before and after the great divisions in the East and the West. Ignatius of Antioch stands beside Augustine, Francis of Assis and Clare alongside Julian of Norwich, Teresa of Avila and Ignatius of Loyola. Today more than ever, Roman Catholics feel free to turn to such guides and to contemporaries from many Christian traditions, such as C.S. Lewis, Brother Roger of Taizé and others.

The beatification of Mary MacKillop by Pope John Paul II in 1995 was a special moment in the history of the Roman Catholic Church in this country. She stood out as a kind person, tender towards anyone in trouble, always encouraging others and urging them to be kind and united. There are Australian qualities in her hard work, her strength in the face of opposition and unassuming nature that attracted many people during her life and still today.

The Roman Catholic Church in Australia is currently facing a number of challenges. If a shortage of ordained ministers is somewhat unique, other pastoral problems, such as the position of the Church in a secular society, are shared with most Christian groups in the nation. At the same time a growth of leadership and participation by lay people in many areas of service and mission shows that the fruit of years of renewal is now being reaped.