Lonergan Australasia 2025 Spring Seminar – September
◊ Video – Click on the image below for the video presentation.
◊ Audio versions
“What the Lord is asking of us is already in some sense present in the very word ‘synod’. Journeying together – laity, pastors, Bishops – is an easy concept to put into words, but not so easy to put into practice” (Address of Pope Francis at the Ceremony Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Synod of Bishops, 17 October 2015).
In the last four years the Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst has undertaken a significant journey along a synodal path. There have been some key milestones and events, such as the Diocesan Assembly on 15 February 2023, the commissioning of the Sandhurst Mission and Pastoral Council on 4 April of that same year and the promulgation of the Sandhurst Strategic Mission and Pastoral Goals on 29 November 2024. No less significant has been the prayer, deliberation and labour in between these important moments in the life of the diocese. This presentation will outline some of the key ‘synodal’ principles that have informed diocesan leadership and decision making and describe some of the processes and practices that have been helpful along the way. There will be a short reflection on how the commitment to the synodal principles and practices have created the condition of the possibility of conversion, such that the people of God in Sandhurst might become a more loving and Christ-centred Church of service to our world.
Dr Chris Cotter is Director of Mission and Pastoral Life for the Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst. In this role Chris leads the Office of Mission and Pastoral Life at the Diocesan Chancery in Bendigo. He has experience as a teacher, leader and administrator in Catholic schools and system offices in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia, most recently as Director of Religious Education at Catholic Education Western Australia. Chris has academic qualifications in education, religious education and theology, including a Doctor of Theology completed in 2019. He is particularly interested in the contribution practical theology can make to the integration of faith, life and culture for the mission and identity of Catholic organisations. Chris is married to Julie, has two adult daughters and a whippet named ‘Scully’.