Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB has commissioned the archdiocese’s new Diocesan Pastoral Council. Source: The Record.
“Your word, Lord, is a lamp for my steps and a light for my path,” Archbishop Costelloe quoted from psalm 119 as he prepared to commission the 18 members of the new council.
Speaking at the 5pm Mass on July 5 at St Mary’s Cathedral, Archbishop Costelloe explained the words of the psalm were important for those gathered as they “open us to God’s compassion and mercy, and to recommit ourselves to the call and the privilege of living as disciples of Christ.”
“And precisely because these words are so important for all of us, they are especially important for those among us who, on behalf of us all, take on the task of being members of our Diocesan Pastoral Council, becoming in that way collaborators with me in the privilege of leading the Church here in our archdiocese along the path of fidelity to all that God is asking of us,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
Formation of the Diocesan Pastoral Council follows several years of prayerful discernment and discussion following the Fifth Plenary Council and via the Archdiocesan Assembly, which included a formation session in September 2023 and the Assembly in July 2024.
A consultative council, it gathers clergy, religious and lay people to advise the Archbishop on pastoral matters, and its members serve a three-year term.
More than 100 delegates from parishes, agencies and offices across the Archdiocese came together as part of the Assembly journey, operating within the framework provided by Canon Law, with a focus on investigating, considering, and formulating practical strategies for pastoral works and initiatives with the diocese – namely on establishing a Diocesan Pastoral Council that reflects the way of synodality as emphasised by Pope Francis.
At the end of 2025, nominations and applications for membership of the Diocesan Pastoral Council were opened, attracting interest from across the archdiocese.
Members of the Diocesan Pastoral Council, who will serve a three-year term, met for the first time on July 4.
FULL STORY
Return Christ to the Church: Archbishop Costelloe commissions new Diocesan Pastoral Council Members (By Jamie O’Brien, The Record)
