24 Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst Year in Review 2025 Rev. Dr Jake Mudge Director Clergy Life and Ministry Sandhurst The office of Clergy Life and Ministry (CLM) supports clergy of the Diocese in their day-to-day ministry and responsibilities of pastoral care. Such support ranges from assisting clergy to obtain appropriate spiritual, ministerial and medical care through collaboration with local spiritual directors, pastoral mentors, clergy health/wellbeing coordinators and chancery communities, to coordinating annual retreats and conferences that assist with ongoing formation and wellbeing of clergy. This year the office of CLM has been significantly supported by the work of Leslie Cooper, Dr Chris Cotter, Geoff Gowdie, and the Mission and Pastoral Life team. Together we have sought ways to engage the strategic directions of the Diocese promulgated by Bishop Shane and the Sandhurst Mission and Pastoral Council (SMPC) in late 2024. The strong sentiment among diocesan communities is that these directions provide a very relevant and Spirit-led approach to shaping the pastoral planning for the Diocese well into the future. Creation of a Formation Reference Group: One of the fruits of the collaboration between CLM and the SMPC has been joint discernment regarding the ongoing formation of both clergy and the lay ministry in the Diocese. Given that the strategic plan directly relates to all members of the Diocese, it was thought that by keeping the wider diocesan community informed of the topics and urgencies of ongoing formation for clergy (and non-ordained), parishes and other diocesan communities could be positioned to work more collaboratively and creatively with clergy, and vice versa. This insight led to the establishment in 2025 of a “Formation Reference Group”. This group, consisting of women and men from across the Diocese, meets regularly to collaborate and discern topics for formation that relate to both clergy and lay ministers. The benefit of this collaboration and discernment is that the entire Diocese works collaboratively and in dialogue: a call of the synodal Church, emphasised so strongly in the pontificate of Pope Francis. Clergy Life and Ministry 2025 and 2026: Conferences and Retreats: Each year, CLM Sandhurst is responsible for organising the annual clergy conference/in-service. By chance, in 2025 the conference fell at the same time as the installation of Bishop Shane as the new Archbishop of Brisbane, so the conference was postponed until February 2026. The conference topic – an emerging and timely theme for the Australian church – is that of “interculturality”. Interculturality reminds us that a universal Church has the opportunity to exchange ideas, customs and traditions related to religious practice for the mutual benefit, flourishing and dialogue of the whole community. In February 2026, Mr Patrick Fox, representing Catholic Mission Australia, led the clergy of the Diocese in their seminar and workshop on this topic. In June 2025, Fr Brendan Byrne SJ, internationally known and respected biblical scholar, led the 2025 clergy retreat at Corpus Christi Carlton. In his typically gentle, wise and pastoral style, Fr Brendan led the clergy through a 4-day retreat, relating to the Jubilee Year of Hope, on the topic of St Paul’s letters. Brendan led us carefully through the ways that the Pauline Letters remind the People of God of an abiding, compassionate and loving God who leads us in hope. Looking ahead: 2026 and beyond: As this Year in Review is going to print, CLM Sandhurst is planning for the conferences and retreats for 2026 and 2027. These will include an emphasis on the ongoing formation and support of priests preparing to retire, those joining the Diocese from overseas, and those who are newly ordained. The office of CLM wishes to thank the Diocese for your support of priests, both active and retired, and assure you of our prayerful thanks. Happy 2026 to all. Rev. Dr Jacob Mudge Director Clergy Life and Ministry
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