24 April 2015
Your news from across the Archdiocese of Perth
Edition #28
Archbishop challenges religious By James Parker “If and how are we open to being challenged by the Gospel?” asked Pope Francis in his Apostolic Letter to all consecrated people at the start of the Year of Consecrated Life. Archbishop Ti mot hy Costelloe SDB rose to respond to this question as he delivered a keynote address last week entitled ‘Religious Life Today – A Gospel Path which calls to us’ at Loreto Primary School in Nedlands. The Archbishop began by reflecting on “how faithful or otherwise the Church has been” to the Second Vatican Council in the intervening fifty years. He recalled the dramatic changes to the liturgy and priests’ responses to “having permission to celebrate the Mass in English”, as well as women religious in particular believing it was “more appropriate… to wear secular dress”. “I can’t help thinking,” said the Archbishop, “that it will be a sign of maturity for the Church when the legitimacy of the different decisions made by individual religious congregations in this matter of dress is recognised and respected and we cease judging each other on the basis of what we wear.” Archbishop Costelloe alluded to St John Paul II’s choice of the Transfiguration upon which the Polish Pontiff based his 1994 Apostolic 1 | EDITION #28 | 24 APRIL 2015
Archbishop Timothy Costelloe blesses Sr Quynh Mary, (kneeling) who made her solemn profession at the Carmelite Monastery chapel, Nedlands, in August 2012. PHOTO: ROBERT HIINI.
Exhortation on Religious Life, quoting him as writing: “the vocation to the consecrated life is, despite its renunciations and trials, and indeed because of them, a path of light over which the Redeemer keeps constant watch: “Rise and have
“This is not an easy task,” he pointed out, but went on to state that “it is a task in which the whole Church must constantly engage”. “If Religious are to wake anyone else up we must first wake up each other so that we can then wake up the
Archbishop Costelloe challenged religious to “return to our origins and to the charisms of our founders...” no fear.” Underpinned with a constant tone of encouragement, Archbishop Costelloe challenged religious to “return to our origins and to the charism of our founders… to the original divine inspiration which gave rise to our congregations in the first place”.
community of the Lord’s disciples, of which we, and the bishops, and the clergy, and the laity are all equally a part.” The Archbishop explained that this venture would mean “acting boldly, imaginatively, innovatively and courageously… doing this within
the community of disciples, the Church”. It would mean “being called to go to the margins, the peripheries… as disciples of Jesus, and members of his Church”. Archbishop Costelloe then spoke of a “three-fold fidelity in theology which must become a three-fold fidelity in life”.: fidelity to what God has done through sending his Son, which requires constant renewal in the image of the Jesus of the Gospels; fidelity to the ways in which, over the centuries, the Holy Spirit has led the Church into an ever deeper appreciation of the riches to be found in the mystery of Christ; and fidelity “to the present reality in which we find ourselves”. Full Text available at
www.therecord.com.au