Dear Friends

There has been a good deal of recent commentary about the Review of Diocesan and Parish Governance, entitled The Light from the Southern Cross (the Report).

The review and subsequent Report arose from Recommendation 17.5 of the Final Report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which stated that ‘the ACBC should conduct a national review of the governance and management structures of dioceses and parishes, including in relation to issues of transparency, accountability, consultation and the participation of lay men and women.’ The Implementation Advisory Group (IAG) managed the process and brought together a panel of experts to deliberate and write the draft, and another group to offer advice on specific issues.

The resulting 200-page Report is comprehensive, scholarly and insightful; not perfect, and some amendments will be made for the next draft. However, Catholic Church communities have an excellent document for careful reflection and a series of 86 recommendations for serious consideration.

Most laudatory is that the Review is in line with Pope Francis’ vision of the Church as more inclusive and synodal and gives expression to many similar hopes held by the Faithful. Good, honest governance and administration are essential for every entity. It is healthy and necessary for Church bodies to evaluate themselves and learn from the broader literature and experience of other agencies. An advantage of the COVID-caused delay of the Plenary Council is that there will be more time for discussion of and debate about this report, particularly by delegates.

Dioceses and Parishes are varied and diverse. Some already adopt the processes and structures proposed in the Recommendations and have for some years. Others have significant work to undertake before realising such arrangements. However, we cannot afford to be naïve about the impact of change. Adopting corporate models does not guarantee ethical, transparent governance. The Banking Royal Commission highlights that. Democratic and consultative processes do not guarantee ethical or just outcomes. Examples readily come to mind. Religious institutes have a long history of participative democracy, with elections, chapters, councils and processes for discernment being constitutive elements of their life. Religious Institutes established the first ministerial PJP’s (Public Juridic Persons) with their Lay-Religious Trustees and accompanying civil bodies. All these work effectively, but not perfectly.

Outer reform must be matched by inner conversion: communal and individual. It’s for this reason that formation (not just information) is central to this whole process of leadership and governance. And the formation is not for a select few, but for the Faithful generally. As Church, we need to give priority to this as both strategy and goal. In this way our management practices and governance processes will embody the servant leadership taught by Jesus Christ.

Br Peter Carroll FMS

President, Catholic Religious Australia