Sheridan was referring to a speech by Joe de Bruyn, who used three examples to reflect on how to live a Catholic life. Joe de Bruyn is a retired trade unionist, Labour figure and Campion College board member.

Sheridan says that "at the first mention of the word 'abortion' a walkout began, which included a majority of graduands and a majority of university staff present".

"A serious vice-chancellor would have attended the speech himself" wrote Sheridan.

He is calling on the vice-chancellor to apologise to de Bruyn for the rudeness shown him and reiterate ACU's commitment as a Catholic institution to Catholic teaching.

University offers counselling

However, the university later offered counselling to those affected by the speech.

It said it was "deeply disappointed the speech was not more befitting of a graduation ceremony" and that it would refund ticket fees for graduates.

de Bruyn was being presented with an honorary degree by the Australian Catholic University.

In the speech, de Bruyn claimed abortion was the "single biggest killer of human beings in the world" and referred to is as a "tragedy that must be ended".

Living a Catholic faith in the public square

However Monica Doumit, writing in the Catholic Weekly, says that media reports were wrong to characterise de Bruyn's address as an inappropriate, self-indulgent rant about issues of life and human sexuality that had little relevance to a graduation ceremony.

Contrary to how it was portrayed, Doumit says de Bruyn's speech was not just a rehashing of the Catholic position on contentious issues, but a reflection on how to live one's Catholic faith in the public sphere.

De Bruyn told the graduands that for more than 40 years he had worked in a union that covered warehousing, retail and fast-food companies, fighting for the rights and wages of some of the lowest-paid workers in the country.

He explained that bringing these aspects of his Catholic faith to his work and advocacy was not controversial, but that bringing other aspects of his Catholic faith was contentious.

To illustrate his point, de Bruyn offered three examples: abortion, IVF and marriage. His point was summed up in his concluding remarks:

"As happened to me, you will be faced with issues in your professional and personal lives where the general opinion of the majority of the population is at odds with the teaching of the Church.

"My experience is that many Catholics cave in to peer pressure. They think their professional lives will be harmed if they promote the teaching of the Church. My experience is that this is not so.

"Despite my view on some issues being at odds with the views of my contemporaries over the past 50 years, it never affected my career at all."

Listening Church

Australia's new cardinal-designate, Mykola Bychok, has backed de Bruyn's anti-abortion speech.

"Freedom of speech is an important pillar of our society, so is freedom of religion'' he said.

"We must be free to say that which we believe to be the truth as passed to us by Our Lord. Jesus says to us ‘Be not afraid'.

"I grew up at a time when my church was banned and persecuted in Ukraine. A church of martyrs and confessors.

"We survived this persecution because people loved God and their church. They were courageous and passed on the faith to their children and grandchildren.''

Cardinal-designate Bychok said he did not believe there was any division within the Church on the sanctity of life.

While Pope Francis told the Church to be a "listening Church'', that did not mean others did not have to listen to Christ.

Sources

• The Australian
• ABC
• The Catholic Weekly
• The Australian

Much ink will be spilled and many column inches dedicated to his legacy in the weeks and months ahead.

But besides the list of Dan's accomplishments, needs to sit his record as the most anti-life, anti-religious and specifically anti-Catholic premier this country has seen in recent memory.

Let's start with euthanasia. Victoria was the first Australian state in the country to pass these extreme and barbaric laws.

The former premier's prediction that there would be "a dozen or so" euthanasia deaths in the first year of the law's operation was woefully and, dare I say, intentionally understated, with deaths in the first year ten times that prediction, and increasing year on year since.

Then there's his ban on so-called conversion practices, which was so extreme that the legislation passed specifically referenced the outlawing of "prayer-based practices," making Victoria the first jurisdiction in Australia—and perhaps the first of any jurisdiction, other than militant theocracies—to ban what someone can pray, and for whom they can pray.

Speaking of banning what someone can pray, Mr Andrews was also responsible for Victoria's "exclusion zones," punishing prayer outside abortion clinics with up to 12 months in prison.

He was also responsible for laws overriding legal protections for the seal of confession, threatening every priest who chose to uphold the sacramental seal with imprisonment.

Then there were the December 2022 laws that stripped religious freedoms from faith-based schools, health care and social services, greatly restricting the ability for a faith-based institution to require an employee to uphold the faith of that institution, and giving Victoria's judicial system the power to decide the circumstances in which religious faith and practice is important to a person's role.

While we are on the topic of Victoria's "judicial" system, who can forget the former premier's disgraceful reaction to the unanimous acquittal of Cardinal George Pell by the highest court in the land?

Mr Andrews would not comment on the fact that Victoria Police set their sights on an innocent man and even advertised for potential "victims" to come forward, even when no complaint had been made against him, nor that the full bench of the Victorian Supreme Court failed to overturn what even a first-year law student could see was a rubbish conviction.

He also publicly backed the sacking of Andrew Thorburn from Essendon Football Club, simply because Mr Thorburn attended a church that preached Christian views on life and marriage, clearly demonstrating that for all his talk of "tolerance," Mr Andrews refused to tolerate people of sincere, Christian faith.

Please God, his successor will not be so openly hostile to human life, marriage and family and to the Christian faith, and that the future will see the Andrews premiership as an aberration, not a baseline.

• Monica Doumit is the Director, Public Affairs and Engagement for the Archdiocese of Sydney and a columnist with The Catholic Weekly.
• Republished with permission.

Rather, they are urging him to open up the much-anticipated Synod on Synodality deliberations to the media.

The Catholic media professionals argue that given the global involvement in preparation for the 2021 - 2024 Synod, transparency and wider participation will better serve the Synod process and the Church.

They argue that 'you had to be there' enclosed group spiritual experiences are more subjective and tend not to be universal.

Their comments come in response to Pope Francis' directive that he wishes the Synod to be a "prayerful dialogue" devoid of "political chatter."

Media argue that "political chatter" and media scrutiny are helpful in the discernment process.

In 2021 Francis thanked media professionals for doing a necessary job for the good of the Church. He has repeatedly said that the Synod on Synodality is primarily about listening.

Speaking to reporters on his flight back from Mongolia, Pope Francis stressed that the Synod's October discussions should be viewed as a "religious moment" rather than a "TV talk show."

Amplifying his view, Francis says he is considering binding participants under the strictures of the "Pontifical Secret," a moral and legal obligation of confidentiality.

The use of Pontifical secrecy, normally reserved for gravely important matters, has raised concerns among Catholic media professionals.

The Catholic media professionals warn that the Church's three-year-long campaign encouraging congregational involvement and a more inclusive dialogue may render the Synod an inconsequential gathering if cloaked in such secrecy.

In The Pillar, JD Flynn cautioned that keeping the Synod proceedings confidential could "amplify anxiety" outside the synodal hall.

Cindy Wooden wanted to know if the media could trust the accuracy of the press releases.

After he made the announcement on the plane, Wooden pressed Francis asking if there could be an option for greater transparency with journalists.

Monica Doumit of The Catholic Weekly humorously commented, "The Pontifical Secret is something that everyone knows, except the Pope" and is "something you can tell only one person at a time."

She is advocating for daily press conferences to verify leaks and preserve the Synod's integrity.

Despite these external pressures, Paolo Ruffini, the head of Vatican communications, maintains that the sanctity of the Synod's internal communications is "very important for the discernment process of the entire Church."

He assured the Catholic media that regular press releases would be issued, and the final synthesis document would be made public in the 2024 New Zealand Spring.

As CathNews reported on Friday, events are already planned outside the Rome Synod hall and globally online.

New Zealand's own Christina Reymer, an active member of Be the Change, plans to bring pink shoes adorned with pink ribbons to the Vatican, symbolising women's hardships within the Church.

While the Synod may not be billed as a "power to the people" moment, it's perceived as just that for many Catholics.

Sources

• The Synodal Times
• The Catholic Weekly
• RNS
• The Pillar
• CNN
• CathNews NZ