who is to halt the triumph of secularism?
The recent Synod of Oceania, and the document Statement of Conclusions, released just after it, both pointed to secularism as the major challenge facing the Catholic Church in Australia. The statement said: “The People of God look to their shepherds for guidance and leadership now more than ever in these confusing and increasingly secularised times.” In essence, the document was a “wake-up call” for the Church in the face of continuing declines in belief and practice and in the number of priestly and religious vocations. The statement’s challenge to the bishops to arrest the decline has a note of urgency, given that the Catholic Church seemingly represents the only substantial religious obstacle to the secularisation of Australian culture, particularly as regards marriage and family, the sanctity of human life, moral values and bio-ethical developments.
