Like the universal church around the world, the Archdiocese of Brisbane is in communion with the Bishop of Rome.
We are Catholics who:
- Embrace the person and vision of Jesus
- Build communion with God and others
- Engage in Christ’s Mission in our world
These three dimensions are integral to our life as Church and remind us that our faith is anchored in Jesus Christ, who draws us into communion with God and one another and sends us forth in mission to live, share and proclaim the good news of the Gospel in our everyday lives.
Further to this foundational framework which arose out of an Archdiocesan Synod in 2003, Archbishop Coleridge has taken to heart the 2013 Papal Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) and wants it to be regarded as the charter for the Archdiocese as we seek to plan the kind of future that Christ wants.
Pope Francis on the Parish:
“The parish is not an outdated institution; precisely because it possesses great flexibility, it can assume quite different contours depending on the openness and missionary creativity of the pastor and the community. While certainly not the only institution which evangelises, if the parish proves capable of self-renewal and constant adaptivity, it continues to be the Church living in the midst of the homes of her sons and daughters. … The parish is the presence of the Church in a given territory, an environment for hearing God’s word, for growth in Christian life, for dialogue, proclamation, charitable outreach, worship and celebration. In all its activities the parish encourages and trains its members to be evangelisers.” (Evangelii Gaudium 2013)
Archbishop Coleridge on Evangelii Gaudium:
“The Exhortation is challenging, even confronting at times …. But it is also encouraging, as the Pope writes like a man who knows and understands the difficulties we face. The whole thing is suffused with a sense of humanity and mercy. It is simple but profound, humble but strong…He is unafraid to speak the truth, not just as he sees it but as he hears it from the lips of Jesus…Pope Francis is calling the whole Church to a new missionary impulse for every aspect of the Church’s life: everything must be seen in a missionary key and informed by a missionary spirituality.”