Mark Benedict Coleridge

"Australia is a country with great tradition of Christian faith and even strong in sending missionaries ad extra to carry out the work of evangelization. Today we are experiencing a profound transition, where the old patterns and identities of the past are replaced by new challenges and new issues. Even the Christian faith is in a phase of rebirth. We need a new evangelization and new vitality and energy in proclaiming the Gospel: we are asking ourselves how we can do it. The change affects the Australian Church but society as a whole. It is necessary to read and draw from the past, which was a time of grace, to project into the future. The danger is introversion, folding back on oneself. As Bishops we clearly say that it is time to "put out into deep water" to deal with new forms and new frontiers of mission."