It is just over a month since the conclusion of our national NCP convention hosted at Parramatta from the 12-16 July. Overall the convention (as recorded in the participants evaluations) could only be judged a wonderful success in gathering priests from across the nation to reflect on the Risen Christ in the changing face of the Priesthood.
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Editorial
Fairly obviously, whenever two hundred and fifty people gather to share experiences and to be challenged by experienced and thought-provoking speakers there will be two hundred and fifty different responses and memories.
Something of the richness of the experience of the recent NCP convention in Parramatta is conveyed in the pages of this Spring edition of The Swag. Peter and I thank those who have taken time to write down their reflections on the convention experience and made them available to publish in our magazine. There’s a wide range of responses – all valuable.
In this short editorial section, I want to share some of my own reflections.
NCP Convention – Keynote Presenters & Presentations
In this 2010 Spring issue of The Swag, we are including detailed summaries of the four keynote addresses to the July NCP Convention in Parramatta. The summaries are almost entirely expressed in the words of the authors.
After the Year for Priests: Our Lives for the People
Donald Cozzens
This is our time to be priests. So, let’s not wish for another time… a time when things might be more peaceful. But, without question, it’s a difficult time. And that makes your gathering this year in convention important for the church and for the priesthood.
I’m going to tell you a little bit about my experience of priesthood. Not too much, I hope. But enough to let you take my measure. Do I know what I’m talking about? Do I understand a bit of what you are going through here in Australia?
Knowing a little bit of where I’m coming from might make our conversations more real, more honest.
Interruption, Hope & Possibility: Framing the Priesthood Today
Richard Lennan
Richard began his address with reflections on the importance of context. “Talk about God – and about all that derives from faith in God – is always done by somebody, at some time, and in some place” and “the person, the time and the place are not incidental, but integral to how be come to understand God.”
Spirituality Today: Reclaiming the Buried Life
David Tacey
David began his address with a personal anecdote, an experience which represented a crisis in his personal and professional identity.
“I had seen myself, or I had wanted to be, a Catholic intellectual, and here I was being rebuked by the Church. I had long realized that although I was a university academic, I did not fit into the academic world because I was too religious.
Renewal: and what it will ask of us
Geraldine Doogue
I often remember the observation of this priest: Sanctity is merely the doing of one’s allotted task in life to the best of one’s ability. I love that phrase. I use it in my life. It’s eloquent for me. I find it liberating because it’s not explicitly inviting me to heroics and martyrdom.
Parramatta: worth a peep!
Gough Whitlam was once questioned after he spent extra days looking over classical ruins in Greece & Sicily, while the nation was embroiled in turbulent activity at home. On arrival back in Sydney a young enthusiastic reporter asked “Prime Minister, things are not going well here, why did you spend so much time among ancient ruins”? Gough’s reply – “They were worth a peep”.
Like-minded clergy outline a vision for the future
Any way you look at it the Parramatta NCP Conference was a resounding success – excellent speakers, great venue, a wonderful spirit amongst the guys, two hundred and fifty priests and bishops passionate about their Church and their priesthood.
I must say it was a great feeling being among like-minded clergy. From the moment I arrived I knew I was with a group of guys who were inspired by Vatican II and determined to keep the spirit of the Council alive. Clearly this conference was not going to be a retreat into the security of the past, but an attempt to outline a vision for the future.
