LISTENING AND DISCERNMENT
More than 222,000 people participated in listening and dialogue encounters and contributed 17,457 submissions during the first stage of preparation for the Australian Plenary Council.
The voices of the faithful help all of us to understand something of the historical experience and the current reality of the Catholic Church in Australia. This gathered data also reveals some deeper hopes and questions, and the diverse yearnings, that we are now challenged to consider together.
The voices in the Listening and Dialogue submissions inspired The National Themes for Discernment, which have served as guides as we went through Phase II: Listening and Discernment. Catholics all over Australia participated in Writing and Discernment sessions, discerning on the submissions with prayerful hearts and minds. These responses made their way to our Writing and Discernment Groups via our website portal, who drafted thematic papers towards making the agenda for Assembly 1.
Discernment will go on indefinitely. We invite you to continue getting together with your community for sessions and sending us your responses via the website.
Listening and Discernment
Introduction to Discernment
Before commencing your Small Group Discernment sessions, we invite you to become more familiar with the process of Discernment through the following resources.
Let's Listen and Discern
Checklist of resources you need to run a Listening and Discernment Session, steps and submission forms.
Responses to Discernment
A collation of small groups submissions from the Listening and Discernment sessions
Thematic Discernment Papers
Before commencing your Small Group Discernment sessions, we invite you to become more familiar with the process of Discernment through the following resources.