More than 80 Catholic allied health professionals gathered simultaneously at four Australian locations for a retreat titled ‘Hope in the Imago Dei”. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
Co-hosted by the Raphael Network and the Australian Catholic Medical Association, the Jubilee Year of Hope-inspired event welcomed doctors, psychologists, social workers, counsellors, therapists, and other health professionals who share a desire to integrate Catholic faith with their professional vocations.
The Sydney retreat was led by Sydney Auxiliary Bishop Tony Percy, with the other retreats held in Melbourne, Hobart, and Perth.
Bishop Percy’s opening session on the nature of hope invited attendees to reflect on hope not as mere optimism, but as a theological virtue rooted in Christ and initiated in baptism.
Christian hope makes health professionals credible witnesses, able to offer a smile, a listening ear, or a kind gesture that becomes, in the Spirit of Jesus, a seed of transformation, Bishop Percy said.
The retreat included Mass and a shared meal, and time for silent prayer, Eucharistic adoration, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, offering space for personal renewal within a context of professional formation.
In the second session, “The Imago Dei”, attendees contemplated the profound truth that every person is created in the image and likeness of God – a truth underpinning the ethical and spiritual dimensions of Catholic healthcare.
One of the most moving and intellectually stimulating moments came through Francine Pirola’s presentation on the Shroud of Turin, believed by many to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ.
The final session, “Being the Image of Hope”, challenged professionals to become visible signs of God’s hope in a culture marked by secularism, moral confusion, and emotional burnout.
Attendee Rosette Chidiac found the retreat nourishing.
“Being a Catholic therapist in a secular world brings many challenges, and it’s always rejuvenating to sit among fellow Catholic therapists who value the whole human in their practices,” she said.
FULL STORY
Health professionals contemplate ‘imago Dei’ (By Reta Khairy, The Catholic Weekly)
