Over 500 people have participated in Mission: One Heart Many Voices Conference 2021. Held online for the first time in the conferences’ history, people from around the world were able to tune in and explore “the challenges of living the gospel and leading mission in Australia and globally.”
Held from 1-4 September, participants were able to engage with many international speakers and bring what Peter Carroll FMS, president of Catholic Religious Australia and Provincial of Marist Brothers, Province of Australia called “an energy and passion to be co-responsible in the service of a prophetic, Mission-centred church.”
Key-note speaker, Senior Australian of the Year and Aboriginal elder, Dr Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Bauman AM began the conference by focusing on Dadirri, a process of listening deeply in quiet and still awareness while contemplating the things around oneself.
Personal encounter was the theme of the input from Cardinal Luis Tagle, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples. Catholic Mission National Director, Fr Brian Lucas expanded on this saying, “The challenges for the church in the modern world will not be solved by the ecclesial bureaucracy or head office but by the personal encounter at the church door, the school gate, the shopping centre. We cannot but continue to speak about what we have seen and heard as we take the gospel to the world as it is today.”
Human rights, the rights of people seeking protection and refugees, ensuring the church is a safe place for all and inclusive of people with disabilities were all topics of discussion. There was also a dedicated day for youth which discussed climate change, Women in Leadership, and the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
Some of the presentations and recordings are available now: http://2021.mohmv.com.au/presenters/
The conference was held by Catholic Mission and Catholic Religious Australia and the sixth Mission: one heart many voices conference will be held in 2023.
For more information on the conference visit https://2021.mohmv.com.au/