The National Civic Council has elected a new national president, Queenslander and father of six Luke McCormack, to succeed longstanding Movement chief Patrick Byrne.
Mr McCormack has spent 15 years working for the NCC as a staff member, prior to which he served with the well-known National Evangelisation Team (NET) youth ministry head office in Brisbane.
He also held roles with the Thomas More Centre and Australian Family Association.
Mr McCormack told The Catholic Weekly that his time working for NET Ministries supervising the youth teams was a highlight of his life, combining both mission work and formation in Christian life.
“The alumni from NET Ministries are throughout the church in Australia and NZ,” he said.
The COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns, sense of isolation and increasing polarisation of society have prompted a revitalisation of the NCC’s mission, Mr McCormack said.
He says the NCC aims to revitalise the decentralised model of its founder, BA Santamaria.
“What the Movement can do—which is unique to it and why it will never be a corporation or political campaign machine, it’s bigger and broader than that—is be a home away from home for people who all converge or agree on certain key principles, values or virtues that help cement a nation together,” he said.
“We say we don’t believe in a small government, but a carefully balanced level of involvement in the economy and people’s lives – a safety net for the poor and disadvantaged, a policeman against corruption and greed, but strategic enough to make sure our vital industries are kept healthy and we don’t lose them to overseas competition.”
Making family life viable again was the biggest challenge Australia faces, Mr McCormack said, followed by increasing national resilience in the face of mounting global challenges.
Mr McCormack also paid tribute to his predecessors, Mr Byrne, and former national president Peter Westmore, in the NCC’s publication News Weekly.
“It is a daunting experience following Pat as national president and, when I look at his predecessors, it only gets more daunting,” he wrote.