Australia: The German Temptation

Likewise with regard to the governance of the Church, the Australian bishops’ document calls for greater involvement of the laity and of women.

Ideas which, since the death of Cardinal George Pell, have become more noisy. Msgr. Shane Mackinlay, Bishop of Sandhurst (State of Victoria) seems to have been inspired by the German example by establishing a new pastoral council composed of, in addition to the prelate, 4 clerics and 11 lay people, and who will be “at the forefront of orientations and decision-making within the diocese.”

A point of view from which the Archbishop of Perth (Western Australia) is not far removed. Msgr. Timothy Costelloe – a fierce opponent of the traditional Mass moreover – was appointed on March 15, 2023 as a member of the Preparatory Commission for the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops which is to meet next October.

Upon his appointment, the prelate clarified what he expected from the synodal process: “We do not listen to people to find out if they have a clear understanding of what is good, we listen to them rather to see where they are in their life, that's the most important thing.” The tone is indeed set…

The Archbishop has become a leading figure in the synodal reform process of the Church in Australia and around the world. He was part of the so-called “Frascati” group which synthesized the world synodal dialogues before being appointed to the preparatory commission for the final Roman phase of the synod.

In the progressive Church's Radical Reform podcast, responding to the criticism of the Synod by late Cardinal Pell, who called it a “toxic nightmare” in a posthumous article published in The Spectator, Archbishop Costelloe said: “I don't think it's a nightmare, on the contrary it is a wonderful opportunity for the Church, full of promise for all of us.”

If he were still alive, there is no doubt that the courageous Australian cardinal would have proposed to his colleague in the episcopate to take a closer look at the statistics of the Church in Germany on the “Synodal Path,” before having his faithful cross that bridge.

The Archbishop of Perth may have understood this when he met the Pope and the Curia on March 16: “The controversial questions cannot all be resolved during the Synod. It will be necessary to have the wisdom to say ‘this is not the time to tackle this problem, should we tear ourselves up over it or rather let time do its work?” the prelate told Catholic News Service.

And Archbishop Costelloe noted “a certain weariness in the synodal consultation process” as well as a feeling of “dissatisfaction” on the side of the Preparatory Commission for the Synod of Bishops.