media release: GIVING VOICE TO THE RELIGIOUS OF AUSTRALIA (July 07)

Assembly 2007:  Being Neighbours in the Pacific

 

 

The site, at www.catholicreligiousaustralia.org, and the free, monthly e-journal, pathways, went live during the CRA national assembly in Perth.

 

Both the website and pathways carry the focus "promoting the contemplative and prophetic service of Australian Religious".

 

To be prophetic, according to CRA President, Fr Mark Raper SJ, means to interpret the present and to attempt to point to the implications of how we live today for the future of human society.

 

Fr Raper said that Pope Benedict XVI speaking to Religious leaders in Rome, in May, this year, said that Religious are called to be "prophets who first listen, contemplate and then speak".

 

"Prophets must both encounter God and communicate clearly the needs of our time, whether by speech or by action," Fr Raper said.

 

Entering this website is like opening a door that leads into a world of commitment, adventure and hard work; a world in which a lot of laughter can be 'heard' but one in which tears are also shared.

 

The website will provide valuable information about, and links to, the personnel and structures supporting CRA, the 180 Religious congregations based in Australia and the Church and civil environments within which they operate.

 

Through pathways, religious Sisters, Brothers and priests and those with whom they collaborate will share their passions, their inspirations, their stories. On some occasions, they will give voice to the voiceless; on others they will demand action.

 

In this corner of cyberspace, visitors will encounter prophetic witness and service.

 

The website, which has been developed for CRA by Church Resources, will be updated regularly through features including a weekly Gospel reflection and an events diary.  pathways will be posted at the beginning of each month.  Free subscription is invited.