David

Pope’s message to the elderly

Dear Friends,
“In old age they will still bear fruit” (Ps 92:15). These words of the Psalmist are glad tidings, a true “gospel” that we can proclaim to all on this second World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. They run counter to what the world thinks about this stage of life, but also to the attitude of grim resignation shown by some of us elderly people, who harbour few expectations for the future.

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Sacred quality of trees

In the human religious imagination, a tree is often understood to be a symbol of the connection between heaven and earth: branches, spread out and covering all beneath them, are joined by a trunk to roots plunged deep into the ground. The foliage above gives shade and protection from the harsh heat of the day, and fruit for our nourishment. Besides water (which like fruit ‘falls’ from above) human survival depends on shelter and food, both of which the tree provides.

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Plenary Council Outcomes

The Fifth Plenary Council of Australia has concluded with agreement on all motions including (Part 4.5) ‘that should the universal law of the Church be modified to authorise the diaconate for women, the Plenary Council recommends the Australian Bishops receive this possibility with openness and examine how best to implement it in the context of the of the Church in Australia’.

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Plenary Council embraces Laudato Si

The plenary Council has passed the motion for the Church in Australia to adopt Pope Francis’ Laudato Si. This important encyclical includes the subtitle ‘on care for our common home’. Pope Francis criticises irresponsible development, laments environmental degradation and global warming, and calls on all peoples to take “swift and unified global action” to protect the planet for future generations.

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