Bishops urged to listen non-defensively, understand where people are at

Thursday, March 30th, 2023

As part of the synodal process, Archbishop of Perth Tim Costelloe urges bishops to listen non-defensively and understand “where people are.”

Costelloe has spoken out in support of the synod process, calling it a “fantastic opportunity” for the Catholic Church to engage with the contemporary world.

He has urged adding that the synod is inviting the Church to remember that Christ is at its heart.

“We are listening not to see whether or not people have understood the right things but where people are at. I think that’s been very important,” he said.

“It’s been very important that the bishops are genuinely listening, and listening respectfully and listening in a non-defensive way. Because otherwise, how can we respond if we don’t really understand the situation.”

Archbishop Costelloe rejected the criticisms of the synod by his late compatriot, Cardinal George Pell, who described it as a “toxic nightmare” in an article published posthumously in The Spectator.

Speaking to the “Church’s Radical Reform” podcast, Archbishop Costelloe said, “I don’t think it is a nightmare, I think it is a fantastic opportunity for the Church. I think it is full of promise for us.”

“It is inviting us to remember who is at the heart of the Church. It’s not me and my opinions or me and my certainties. It is Christ who is at the heart of the Church – the Spirit guides the Church,” he added.

A more Christ-like pastoral approach needed

Archbishop Costelloe, who was appointed to the planning committee organising the synod assembly in October, was part of the Frascati team that synthesised the worldwide synodal dialogues.

He was also president of the plenary council in Australia, a national synodal process that laid out a blueprint for renewal and whose final decrees await Rome’s approval.

The archbishop called on the Catholic Church to adopt a more Christ-like pastoral approach, insisting that contested topics must be addressed through listening and discernment.

He particularly emphasised the importance of the role of women and LGBTQ Catholics.

Costelloe drew parallels between Pope Francis’s critics and the religious authorities who attacked Jesus.

“We have to model ourselves on the pastoral methodology of Jesus. At its heart it is to meet a person where they are, and respond to them where they are with openness, and with warmth, and with generosity and with hospitality and then hopefully accompany the journey,” the archbishop said.

The archbishop stressed the importance of relationships and education, saying Catholicism “runs the risk sometimes as being understood as a religion of rules and regulations.”

He added that while rules are necessary, “they will make no sense to anybody unless there is a spirituality behind them.”