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Sydney Home | Archbishop Pell embraces Cardinal's vision for Sydney Synod
Before his retirement, Cardinal Edward Clancy (right) confided in his college of consultors that he would like to convene a Synod to involve the whole Sydney Church in planning and decision-making à la the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle and the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn which has been going down the same road as Maitland-Newcastle. Unfortunately, the cardinal was too close to retiring to do anything about it. Happily, his successor, Archbishop Pell (left), recently expressed his conviction that the laity would have to play an increasingly important role in the Sydney Church (CW 17/3). The diocesan synod and the diocesan pastoral council are the only diocesan structures mentioned in the Code of Canon Law as ways of using the abundant gifts of the laity, “for the good of the whole diocesan community”. (Canon 460). Fortunately, the recent experience of dioceses like Maitland-Newcastle and Canberra and Goulburn can be invaluable for other Australian dioceses looking to go down this road for the first time.
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