Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB has been elected to the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops.
Pope Francis expanded the council to 17 members, 12 of whom were elected by members of the synod on synodality during their meeting at the Vatican on 23 October: one from the Eastern Catholic churches, one from Oceania, and two each from North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
I am grateful for the opportunity to continue the important work of bringing about a synodal Church that listens.
Archbishop Costelloe, the Archbishop of Perth, was elected as the representative from Oceania.
‘I am grateful for the opportunity to continue the important work of bringing about a synodal Church that listens—listens to the faithful people of God, listens to the College of Bishops and the Holy Father, and listens to the Holy Spirit,’ Archbishop Costelloe said.
The Archbishop of Sydney, Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP, concludes his mandate at the end of the current assembly.
The council members, who must be bishops, are chaired by the Holy Father and will oversee the implementation of the synod after its conclusion and prepare for the next meeting of the Synod of Bishops.
Pope Francis will select four members of the council at a future date, and he has decided that the prefect of the Vatican dicastery most closely tied to the theme of the next synod also will be a member of the ordinary council. The Pope has not announced the theme yet.
Members of the ordinary council automatically become members of the next synod.
Besides Archbishop Costelloe, the council members elected on 23 October are:
- Bishop Daniel E Flores of Brownsville, Texas
- Bishop Alain Faubert of Valleyfield, Quebec
- Melkite Patriarch Joseph Absi
- Archbishop Timothy Costelloe of Perth, Australia
- Cardinal Luis Rueda Aparicio of Bogotá, Colombia
- Archbishop José Luis Azuaje Ayala of Maracaibo, Venezuela
- Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline of Marseille, France
- Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius, Lithuania
- Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga of Bangui, Central African Republic
- Archbishop Andrew Fuanya Nkea of Bamenda, Cameroon
- Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão of Goa and Damão, India
- Cardinal-designate Pablo David of Kalookan, Philippines.
Fourteen Australians have attended the second session of the 15th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome from 2 to 27 October.
The process began in October 2021, inviting people all over the world to express their understanding of a ‘synodal’ Church and provide input into priority issues. After several rounds of global consultations, a ‘synthesis report’ was then produced following the first session held in Rome in October 2023.
The task of the second session has been to complete the discernment begun at the first session and offer the result of this discernment to Pope Francis in a final document.
The final document is expected to be read and voted on during the assembly on Saturday 26 October, followed by a Holy Mass in St Peter’s Basilica on Sunday 27 October.
Banner image: Archbishop Timothy Costelloe of Perth, Australia, speaks during a Mass with members of the Synod of Bishops in St Peter’s Basilica on 30 September 2024 during a two-day retreat for synod members at the Vatican before the opening of the second session of the synod. (Photo: CNS/Lola Gomez.)
