One of the great blessings of the SVD across the world and in the AUS Province is the presence of its young members, and recently, those confreres who have been in the AUS Province for five years or less, got together for some ongoing formation.
Fr Kommareddy Rajasekhar Reddy SVD (Raja) said the “Under 5’s gathering” was a wonderful opportunity for those who are relatively new to the Province, to catch up and spend some time together.
“It was a time to come together and share our story of our ministry in our respective fields,” he says. “We were given an opportunity to share our joys and challenges in ministry.”
Nine young missionaries attended the gathering – Fr Raja, Fr Alphonse Nahak and Fr Joseph Reddy from Sydney; Fr Yon Wiryono from Melbourne; Fr Van Bang Nguen and Fr Alejandro De La Sotta from Brisbane and Fr Prakash Menezes, Fr Vincent Mai and Fr Olivier Noclam from Alice Springs.
They were treated to presentations from Fr Michael Mullins SM and Fr David Ranson from the Diocese of Broken Bay.
In feedback on the session, one member of the group said that he liked the idea presented by Fr Michael of the boundaries of a particular role and the need to fulfil the task of that particular role.
“Yes, the role description is not always clear in our particular appointments and working with our superiors who do not communicate our role description clearly sometimes frustrates us. But to make an effort to know more about the role, begin a conversation about what is expected, what are the boundaries, what are the immediate tasks, etc, can help us do justice to our role and fulfil the tasks effectively,” he said.
In feedback on the presentation by Fr David, one of the young missionaries said that the practicality and the seriousness of the topic on professional standards caught his attention.
“It’s the first time I’d heard the history of the response of the Catholic Church Leaders to the allegations of sexual abuse of minors in the church run institutes, in the way Fr David put it,” he said.
“It was succinct, to the point and clear. I was also impressed by the way he presented this topic to our level of understanding due to our (English as a Second Language) limitation. The distinction, between personal, private and public, was well made and allowed us to look into it and practice straight away.
“The explanation about the role of the Royal Commission and how the legislation will be put into place to make the ministry of priests into a “Profession” was heartbreaking, as it may lead to make us 9-to-5rs.
“But Fr David quoted Pope Francis with the challenge to ‘caress the wounds’ of the other, which will help us rise up against this ‘Professionalism’.
The group also heard from Fr Martin Maunsell, Parish Priest of Eastwood in Sydney about the challenges he faced as a younger priest and the basic values he practices to live a happy and fruitful priestly life.
The four SVD Province Co-ordinators of Characteristic Dimensions – Bible, Communications, Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation, and Mission - then spoke about the work they are undertaking and the need to cooperate with one another within the Province.
Each participant was given the chance to share about two living-giving moments they had experienced in their missionary life.
“Every story was interesting, to hear about the mission realities of our brothers,” Fr Raja said.
“The group felt that this kind of workshop is most appreciated, to know each other better, to learn from each other’s sharing, to know the realities and struggles of ministries while working in a diocesan parish and in a SVD parish in a diocese.
“And it was informative, helping us to stand tall amidst difficulties and to learn certain personal habits to remain as a happy priest, as well as to know more about the Province and various ministries that are awaiting us.
“We also gained each other’s care and concern and the wisdom of stories shared by our companions, which gave us an opportunity to stand with them and encourage each other.”