Women members of the Plenary Council of the Catholic Church in Australia (2021-2022) were recently hosted by Women and the Australian Church (WATAC) in partnership with Australian Catholic University (ACU) and Catholic Religious Australia (CRA) at a gathering which provided them with an opportunity to meet each other for conversation and sharing.

There was great energy at the zoom and face to face meeting which took place at the North Sydney Campus of ACU on the feast day of St Catherine of Siena: Doctor of the church, woman of prayer, pastoral and political activist.

For Andrea Dean, President of WATAC, the gathering was important in providing a way for the women members of the Plenary Council to connect with each other and to share their lived experiences as Catholic women, especially since less than one-third of the members listed to attend the council are women.

Anne Walker, National Executive Director of CRA said, “CRA continues to support the voice of religious women and all women in the call for frank and courageous conversation about issues that are relevant and important within the Church.” She added that “the collective intelligence and wisdom of these women are gifts to the Church.”

The event included break-out groups and time for prayer and reflection which Professor Dermot Nestor, Executive Dean for the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy at ACU, acknowledged as key to building trust and deepening discernment around a shared vision.

Women members of the Plenary Council indicated to WATAC, CRA and ACU that the gathering was an important event for them and that they would like the opportunity to meet again.

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