Bishop’s Pastoral Letter - Re: Permanent Diaconate
We have just celebrated the 100th anniversary of the death of Blessed Mary MacKillop with a beautiful celebration of the Eucharist in our Cathedral on Sunday 30 August. Blessed Mary MacKillop, co-founder of the Sisters of St Joseph, will, we hope, be our first Australian to be proclaimed a Saint. Recently, around the feast of Mary MacKillop, we focussed on vocations, the vocation we all have and the special vocation to Priesthood and Religious Life. Pope Benedict XVI has named the year running from June 19th 2009, as the ‘Year of the Priest’. This coincides with the 150th anniversary of the death of St John Vianney, the patron saint of diocesan clergy. It brings a renewed focus on ordained ministry in the Church. Ordination includes the ministry exercised by those who have been graced with a vocation to the Permanent Diaconate. After extensive consultation and serious prayerful deliberation, I indicated that we would proceed with the implementation of the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Rockhampton. A College of Adult Faith Education will also be established where ministry in its broadest sense can be nurtured and formed. A structure has been designed for each of the above to proceed. The Permanent Diaconate Program will be available for men, single, married or widowed between the age of thirty years and before retirement, who sense a call to this form of ordained service to the Church. Married men require the support of their wife and family. A lengthy formal period of preparation, stretching over approximately five years, will guide those who are accepted into this journey. Careful discernment of vocation, a thorough theological, liturgical and pastoral education, as well as spiritual formation and practical ministry experience are central to the Sacrament of Order in the Permanent Diaconate. With the Diocesan Assembly in September (21st – 24th) approaching and the tremendous effort being directed towards it, the Permanent Diaconate will commence early in 2010. I invite any Catholic layman, who has an interest in being considered to take first steps along this way, to contact me over the coming weeks so that we will be able to move forward as planned. Meanwhile, I ask all to pray for developing a culture of vocations throughout the diocese and for God’s blessings on our endeavours. Yours sincerely
+ Brian Heenan
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