PODCAST · religion
Plenary Matters
by Geraldine Doogue
Join prominent Australian broadcaster Geraldine Doogue as she follows two big events in the life of the Catholic Church in Australia and worldwide. Australia's Plenary Council concluded in 2022 but the deliberations will continue to shape the Church in the years to come. The global synod launched by Pope Francis is also shaping a modern, synodal Church. Geraldine talks with other Catholics about the challenges and hopes in a Church still seeking what matters. She also explores the emerging opportunities for leadership and creative commitment that is set to become a hallmark of this new stage in Church life.
Episodes
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What's next for Plenary Matters?
After almost four years, at home and in Rome, Plenary Matters is packing up...and preparing for a new venture! Following her coverage of the funeral of Pope Francis and the conclave that elected Pope Leo, Geraldine reflects on Australia's plenary council, the world synod and what's still to come....
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Handing on the baton: Next generation Catholic leaders
Who will carry the Australian church’s mission into the future? And how will the next generation of lay Catholics be accompanied to lead the church’s vital education, health, social and spiritual ministries, especially in regional and rural communities? ‘Lay people are running on empty when it...
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Politics of Hope? Election 2025
As Australians prepare to vote, how can our Catholic tradition help us to reflect on what matters? And how might the concept of synodality in the church influence broader relationships and decision making in the contemporary society? Join Geraldine and two seasoned observers of the Australian...
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Safeguarding the Future: A Conversation with Hans Zollner
First up in this new series of Plenary Matters, Geraldine speaks with Fr Hans Zollner, a world expert in the safeguarding and protection of children and adults at risk. He’s been speaking in Australia and New Zealand on the progress made in the Catholic Church, including the leading role of…
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At the Synod in Rome: Ep 8
Two of Australia’s most seasoned representatives at the Synod in Rome, Susan Pascoe AM and Bishop Shane Mackinlay, join Geraldine to discuss what’s in the final document and what happens next. While the pace of change may vary in different parts of the church, they both have witnessed moments of...
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At the Synod in Rome: Ep 7
As the Synod on Synodality enters its final week, Timothy Radcliffe urged delegates to speak with freedom as they consider and vote on the final document. Delegates were also addressed by head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith Cardinal Fernandez, whose absence from a meeting on…
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At the Synod in Rome: Ep 6
Baptised Catholics are 'the principal presence of the Church in the world', says Professor Catherine Clifford. She's one of the Canadian delegates to the Synod on Synodality, an expert on Vatican II, and is overseeing the drafting of the final text that will be voted on by all the delegates in…
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At the Synod in Rome: Ep 5
Who might help or scuttle all these bold ambitious plans for synodality? Tales of the Roman Curia – the Vatican civil service – are replete with villainy, but its constant reform under successive popes may surprise. Monsignor Anthony Ekpo has worked in the Roman Curia for eight years, first in…
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At the Synod in Rome: Ep 4
What does synodal leadership mean for a bishop? Archbishop Ryan Jimenez is wrestling precisely with that question after being appointed as the new archbishop of Agaña, Guam, amid a crisis of sexual abuse in his diocese. He's new to the synod – his appointment came after the first assembly last…
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At the Synod in Rome: Ep 3
One of the most influential lay women at the synod in Rome is Professor Anna Rowlands, who believes a relational revolution is underway inside the synod hall. Working in the synod office for the past two years on secondment from Durham University, she sees the building of a relational fabric –...
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At the Synod in Rome: Ep 2
God nudging us along, is how synod expert Eamonn Conway describes the process happening inside the Paul VI hall. He attended a previous synod, in 2012, but this synod he believes is fundamentally reshaping the mission of the global church, which 'can only succeed if the gifts and charism being...
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At the Synod in Rome: Ep 1
Welcome to Roma where the global Catholic church is meeting for this final assembly of the Synod on Synodality. To set the scene Geraldine chats with Br Mark O'Connor, Vicar for Communications for the Diocese of Parramatta, who has a close eye on the proceedings and participants, including the…
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Plenary Matters S6 Ep 8: The pope prepares for the Asia-Pacific
Ahead of Pope Francis’ trip to our region, Plenary Matters caught up again with Augustinian Assistant General Fr Tony Banks during his recent visit to Australia. He’s been involved with preparations for the pope’s visit to the border between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea where prayer and…
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Plenary Matters S6 Ep 7: Can the church be a credible witness?
Synodality is ‘a different way of living’ unity in diversity, according to theologian and canon lawyer Myriam Wijlens who has been closely involved in the global synod. And Europe’s diplomatic leaders are taking note. Cardinal Hollerich, one of four male clerics who presented the working document...
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Plenary Matters S6 Ep 6: Fully alive - naming vulnerability and truth
Fresh from her meeting with Pope Francis, Associate Professor Maeve Heaney VDMF joined Geraldine at the Spiritual Care Australia conference to speak about holding together tension in the church, and how music has helped her to name experiences of vulnerability through illness. Two years on from...
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Plenary Matters S6 Ep 5: At the way places of care
At the Spiritual Care Australia conference held at the Australian Catholic University in North Sydney, Geraldine sat down with keynote speaker, Rev Jon Owen, CEO and pastor of the Wayside Chapel, which turns 60 this year. They discuss the spiritual needs of communities still seeking ritual, as in...
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Plenary Matters S6 Ep 4: A living hub in the church
Hear from some inspired leaders, fresh from an international conference in Canberra, about a church alive in Catholic education today. Barbara Coupar from Scottish Catholic Education Service, Ross Fox from Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn and Peter Woods from the ACU La Salle Academy have all...
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Plenary Matters S6 Ep 3: Bold reform in Catholic schools
Two years on from Australia’s Plenary Council, Catholic schools are taking up Pope Francis’ call for bold action in living the contemporary mission of the Church in Australia. Deputy CEO of Catholic Schools NSW Danielle Cronin says Catholic schools are no longer immune to the challenges of social...
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Plenary Matters S6 Ep 2: Timothy Radcliffe ...on hope
In this special episode of Plenary Matters Geraldine speaks about hope with Dominican priest Timothy Radcliffe during his recent visit to Australia. Pope Francis appointed Fr Timothy as spiritual advisor to the synod on synodality and his series of talks and meditations to synod delegates set the...
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Plenary Matters S6 Ep 1: The Afternoon of Christianity
Welcome back to a new season of Plenary Matters! Up first is renowned Czech theologian Tomáš Halík, in Australia last month to discuss his new book, The Afternoon of Christianity, with Australian Jesuit Frank Brennan. Drawing on his experience of an underground church, Tomáš calls for a deepening...
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Plenary Matters S5 Ep 5: What did the first assembly achieve?
Christopher White, Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, sat down with Geraldine during his recent visit to the Diocese of Parramatta to give some revealing anecdotes and insights into the synod's first assembly. While the dismantling of hierarchy may be a step still too far…
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Plenary Matters S5 Ep 4: Letter to the people of God
The synod released its letter to the People of God, while Pope Francis made his own intervention on the Church as 'God's faithful people.' Geraldine chats with Julie on her last day on the press floor about her experience observing on the ground and how synodality might be made more concrete in…
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Plenary Matters S5 Ep 3: History making at the synod
As the synod prepares its final documents to go out from Rome to the whole Church at the end of this week, the real work of the first assembly is only beginning. The Tablet correspondent Christopher Lamb, who covered the Plenary Council in Australia, tells Geraldine that this synod is history in...
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Plenary Matters S5 Ep 2: A church under pressure
Just over the halfway point of this first assembly of the synod and the tensions on the floor are no surprise, according to Australian Augustinian Fr Tony Banks. He has a unique vantage point living with five of the synod delegates right beside St Peter's Square and tells Geraldine that the...
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Plenary Matters S5 Ep 1: The synod gets underway
As the first full week of the synod wraps up Geraldine speaks to Br Mark O’Connor who is in Rome watching and listening on the ground. The pre-synod retreat led by Dominican priest Timothy Radcliffe set a reflective tone for the men and women who will spend the rest of October at round tables…
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Plenary Matters S4 Ep 10: The Young and the Restless revisited
Google synodality, then discuss: how can Catholicism attract modern searchers? Geraldine goes back to two ‘Young and the Restless’ guests from last year, Grace Brennan and Joe Wehbe, to explore how they each think the church can better serve diverse communities. In regional Australia Grace sees a...
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Plenary Matters S4 Ep 9: Creating a future church
How does the church engage creatively with the modern world? For Richard Lennan, who did his doctorate in Austria on Karl Rahner, looking to the future to see how we should be in the present has been the project of his theological life for nearly four decades. This is the 'Gaudium et spes'…
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Plenary Matters S4 Ep 8: Will the centre hold? Women in the church
The restoration of women to the diaconate is the urgent issue of our time, says Dr Phyllis Zagano. How many of us even understand the essence of deacons’ roles: its emphasis on service but also its impressive history in the life of the church. The early church ordained deacons to provide vital...
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Plenary Matters S4 Ep 7: Who are the ministers?
The future church must be more incarnational, says Professor Massimo Faggioli, if it is to respond to the needs of modern Catholics. That is the big question on the table at the upcoming synod in Rome: who will be the ministers in this church? Critics of the synod reject what they see as a...
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Plenary Matters S4 Ep 6: An Australian view of the global synod
Australia’s Plenary Council set the scene for the global synod as onlookers at home and in Rome wondered if the Australian church would emerge intact. Now it’s the turn of some of our seasoned Council members, Sr Clare Condon, Emeritus Professor John Warhurst and Francis Sullivan to reflect on...
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Plenary Matters S4 Ep 5: Finding new words for a modern church
Here's a chance to hear a qualitatively different voice and tone reflecting the Church's possible future--listen and see if you agree. Professor Anna Rowlands is a political theologian helping to shape the future of the Catholic Church. She presented the pope’s 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti at…
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Plenary Matters S4 Ep 4: 'Strap yourself in for the ride!'
Fr Bill Uren SJ offers sage advice and a history lesson in the lead up to the synod in Rome. The late Cardinal Pell warned that synodal reform would water down bishops’ authority, but Fr Uren takes the long view that earlier popes had already centralised church decision-making in reaction to 19th...
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Plenary Matters S4 Ep 3: On the Way to Renewal
Geraldine teases out both the potholes and possibilities of church renewal with keen observer Br Mark O’Connor fms. He’s clear-eyed about opposition to the pope’s reforms but ultimately, he believes, the synod is the best hope of implementing Vatican II. Cardinal Martini in his last interview…
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Plenary Matters S4 Ep 2: New Approaches to RE
The need for Catholic educators to adapt religion to the modern classroom, operating amidst lower levels of religious literacy, has produced some good results in the Brisbane archdiocese. Their new RE program, Religion, Meaning and Life has been offered as a pilot course to Yr 11 and Yr 12…
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Plenary Matters S4 Ep 1: Surprising Leadership Development
First up in this new series Geraldine speaks with Dr Monica Dutton who leads the Sisters of the Good Samaritan Study and Mentoring (SAM) Program, helping lay women aged 30+ to pursue theological training. Now in its third year, with the support of male congregation leaders in Australia, the…
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Plenary Matters S4: Roundtable on the Synod
Guests were Sr Nathalie Becquart XMCJ, Undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops; Kirsty Robertson, CEO Caritas Australia; Paul McClintock AO, Chairman of Metlife Care, Director Catholic Health Australia, Chairman St Vincent's Health Australia; and Chiara Porro, Australian Ambassador to the Holy…
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The Australian church post Plenary Council: two bishops reflect
In this new episode, Geraldine speaks to Archbishop Tim Costelloe, president of the Australian Bishops Council and Bishop Shane Mackinlay, bishop of Sandhurst in Victoria and vice-president of the Plenary Council. Speaking during afternoon breaks of the bishops’ regular November meeting, they…
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Plenary Matters S3: Sunday 24th July
Here is the promised bonus episode in this series. It offers a very rich---and bracingly realistic set of observations---about a Council from a seasoned Church participant, Fr David Ranson. He was secretary to the Council and deeply absorbed, as you'll hear, in the lead-up, in the events of the...
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Plenary Matters S3: Sunday 10th July
It's wrap-up time after a very big week in the life of the Church. Listen and ponder these first thoughts from two key contributors to the Council: Sr Patty Fawkner, head of the Good Samaritan Sisters and a member of the Council organising committee. Alongside Emeritus Professor John Warhurst…
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Plenary Matters S3: Friday 8th July
Well prepare yourself for some powerful listening in this episode. Two guests join me who've been at the core of events this past week of surprises at the 2nd Assembly...and they're still pretty raw from the sheer intensity of it all. First Archbishop Mark Coleridge, who as President of the...
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Plenary Matters S3: Friday 8th preview
Geraldine gives a preview of the big final day of the Plenary Council. There'll be another longer episode out this afternoon.
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Plenary Matters S3: Wednesday 6th July
Well today, day 3, really drew out the latent tensions and challenges always inherent in this Plenary Council process, ones that could not be dodged for much longer. It is not entirely clear as I write, what the final vote will be on issues around men and women’s status in the Church. So this…
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Plenary Matters S3: Tuesday 5th July
Two key issues have been on the discernment and consideration list for the Plenary Council members these past two days: Reconciliation: Healing Wounds, Receiving Gifts - with an apology to Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander peoples and the role of Catholic education in the life of the…
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Plenary Matters S3: Monday 4th July
The Plenary Council is back in session, which means another season of Plenary Matters awaits. In this episode Geraldine talks to Sarah Moffatt, a member of the Plenary Council Organising & Executive Committee. She's also the Director of Pastoral Life & Mission at Archdiocese of Adelaide. Thanks…
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The Young and the Restless - Ep. 5 Madeline Ford
In this final episode of The Young and Restless, we meet Madeline Ford. At just 25 years of age, she’s one of the youngest members of the Plenary Council and she’s passionate about ensuring that the voice of young people forms part of the Plenary Council process. So where to now for the church…
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The Young and the Restless - Ep. 4 Luke Smith
Geraldine talks to 28-year-old Luke Smith. Raised a Catholic and educated at Riverview College in Sydney, he’s a thinker and a searcher. While he may not be sure where it all might take him, he knows that he wants to go somewhere that is decent. But how does the church relate to his search for...
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The Young and the Restless - Ep. 3 Andy Nguyen
In this podcast of the Young and Restless, Geraldine catches up with Fr Andy Nguyen. Born in Vietnam, he studied architecture in the US, came to Australia to do a master’s degree, became a Catholic and entered the Jesuits in 2009 before being ordained a priest in 2019. His journey of faith and…
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The Young and the Restless - Ep. 2 Joe Wehbe
27yo Joe Wehbe is an author, entrepreneur, writer, and deep thinker, with more than a touch of leadership about him. He has his own podcast, a blog and he’s the co-founder and lead of the ‘Constant Student Community’. That's a place where young people starting out in their careers can find…
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The Young and the Restless - Ep. 1 Grace Brennan
In this episode Geraldine talks to Grace Brennan, who’s been instrumental in uniting Australia’s communities in the city and country. Raised in Sydney, she went to school at Loreto Kirribilli. Her story of marrying a farmer and moving to Warren in western NSW, becoming a mother and starting up…
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Wise Old Souls - Ep. 5 Andy Hamilton
Andy Hamilton is a Jesuit priest, a deep thinker and the final subject of this Wise Old Souls series. For many years Andy has contributed widely to theological and religious journals and has been editorial consultant for Eureka Street. He’s taught theology and church history at the United Faculty...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Join prominent Australian broadcaster Geraldine Doogue as she follows two big events in the life of the Catholic Church in Australia and worldwide. Australia's Plenary Council concluded in 2022 but the deliberations will continue to shape the Church in the years to come. The global synod launched by Pope Francis is also shaping a modern, synodal Church. Geraldine talks with other Catholics about the challenges and hopes in a Church still seeking what matters. She also explores the emerging opportunities for leadership and creative commitment that is set to become a hallmark of this new stage in Church life.
HOSTED BY
Geraldine Doogue
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Plenary Matters have?
Plenary Matters currently has 64 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Plenary Matters about?
Join prominent Australian broadcaster Geraldine Doogue as she follows two big events in the life of the Catholic Church in Australia and worldwide. Australia's Plenary Council concluded in 2022 but the deliberations will continue to shape the Church in the years to come. The global synod launched...
How often does Plenary Matters release new episodes?
Plenary Matters has 64 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Plenary Matters?
You can listen to Plenary Matters on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Plenary Matters?
Plenary Matters is created and hosted by Geraldine Doogue.
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