It was no ordinary conference. The catastrophic bushfires were still burning in Australia, a country tinder-dry with drought. First Peoples were saying that their land was tortured. Pope Francis was calling us to be aware of the interdependence of all of life, all of creation on this vulnerable planet. It seemed that every crisis had the greatest impact on those who had least. Always the most at risk were the least protected. The context of the time coloured everything.
Participants, leaders in Catholic social services from across Australia and from New Zealand, quickly found that they had much in common. Each was a professional in a particular area of health or community service. They knew the urgency of our times. They had carried the responsibilities of leadership in Church organisations during the shame over revelations of sexual abuse. They readily shared experience.
The three days of the conference gave space and inspiration to consider together the complex issues of our societies and our Church communities. It is good that the presentations from this conference can be released in book form; this wider circle of reflection is needed. The challenges we face require listening, prayer and discernment.
The twin themes of compassion and courage were the focus of two keynote presentations and were echoed in the Mary MacKillop Oration traditionally presented at the conference dinner. They became background to all plenary sessions, and to the smallergroups which focussed on specific issues. A glance through the chapters of this book shows the breadth of the areas covered.