Year of Consecrated Life
29 November 2014 – 2 February 2016
Living with gratitude, hope and passion
For consecrated women and men
to live with gratitude and hope
involves grounding themselves in
their collective story and seeing
the historical and cultural context
of religious life today.
Understanding one’s
worldview, the history of
religious life and new ways of
seeing and thinking about the
world today provide a context to
discern a passionate and radical
response to the Gospel through
engagement and relationship.
This was the broad message of
Dr Carol Zinn CCJ over six talks
at the 2015 Catholic Religious
Australia (CRA) National
Assembly held in Brisbane on
23-25 June
The theme was, ‘Live with
Gratitude, Hope and Passion:
Celebrating the Year of
Consecrated Life.’
Sr Carol, a Sister of St Joseph
from Philadelphia and the Past
President of the Leadership
Conference of Women Religious
(LCWR), had been on a
speaking tour around Australia
since early June.
She offered her insights on
religious life from her leadership
roles within her congregation, the
LCWR and as her congregation’s
representative to the United
Nations for 13 years.
The assembly began with a
moving Welcome to Country by
Aboriginal elder Aunty Estelle
Sandow, Thomas Coghill, David
Miller and Ravina Waldren of
Murri Ministry.
CRA President Sr Berneice
Loch RSM welcomed to the
assembly about 170 congregation
leaders, lay partners, and religious
leaders representing Papua New
Guinea/Solomon Islands and
the Congregational Leaders’
Conference Aotearoa – New
Zealand (CLCANZ).
Sr Carol’s sessions were an
invitation to see the world
the way God sees and loves:
as gift, as sacred, where
everything is connected
and unified by diversity.
“God loves the world
unconditionally, with freedom
and respect,” she said. “God loves
the world inclusively, each and all,
all the time.”
Religious life as a radical
response to God’s love, to the
Gospel is a life. Yet as she pointed
out, “It’s not about the ministry;
it’s not about the Church. It is
a life lived in and through the
Church for the life of the world.
Sr Carol posed the question:
“What is the radical response
to the Gospel that is needed in
Australia in 2015?”
This shared experience of
the gifts and future direction of
religious life was discussed over
three days with Sr Jan Barnett RSJ
as facilitator.
The event also included
presentations from canonist
Sr Mary Wright IBVM, Truth
Justice and Healing Council
CEO Francis Sullivan and
immediate past CRA president Sr
Annette Cunliffe RSC, recently
appointed Executive Officer
of the National Committee
of Professional Standards.
The thought-provoking
sessions, enriched with Sr
Carol’s heart-warming and
humorous anecdotes, were
appreciated by participants.
“This conference allowed
me to see things in a different
way