You needn’t look far to see increased energy and confidence in the Catholic church in Sydney and beyond.
An example this week is the record 140 adults who received the sacrament of confirmation at St Mary’s Cathedral.
The last few years have seen big numbers of Easter baptisms and receptions, full parish renewal and evangelisation events, huge engagement in public processions and pro-life rallies, rising seminary enrolments and interest, generally, in the Catholic faith.
The world-first Sistine Chapel: Revelations exhibition is drawing thousands of patrons to the cathedral forecourt, while planning is well underway for the hosting of the next International Eucharistic Congress (Eucharist28) in Sydney.
Such confidence is refreshing at a time when many still see the church as defensive or retreating from public life. Something bold is being attempted – the building of a highly visible missionary culture which encourages personal discipleship and good works.
The Sistine Chapel exhibition launched at an interesting cultural moment. In the same week, millions worldwide watched the Eurovision song contest finals, a vast spectacle of technical mastery, performance, emotion, and meaning.
Both point toward transcendence in a way, but sacred art has always occupied an important place within Christianity. It can awaken wonder, contemplation and conversion, and be itself a form of prayer.
Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP was right to encourage exhibition visitors to “let the painted stories reveal themselves to you anew.”
Beyond the impressive technological achievement it represents is real heart and prayerful effort. The exhibition presents an opportunity many people rarely allow themselves: a chance to pause, contemplate, and receive a moment of grace.
And so we go forward believing all of this is Holy Spirit-led, while keeping in mind that moments of growth require ongoing humble attentiveness.
The real test of this current renewal across Sydney and beyond is whether in 10 or 30 years’ time there is evidence of deeper friendship with Christ and holiness in the church. That kind of transformation is a gift received as the answer to our hope.
Magnifica Humanitas
Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, is about much more than simply artificial intelligence, but is rather a warning about all technological power which is detached from care for human dignity and the common good.
“Today, the human desire for fullness of life is at risk of being misled by deceitful goals, such as the prospect of a technology that promises to free us from all weakness, and models of wellbeing that leave behind entire populations,” the pope writes.
“All too often, we place our hope in unlimited “upgrades,” in forms of progress that exacerbate inequalities, and in immediate solutions incapable of healing people’s wounds. As a result, while some pursue the illusion of unlimited self-assertion, many are deprived of basic necessities.
“The church reminds us, with a firm yet humble voice, that true fulfilment is not achieved by eliminating weakness.”
Magnifica Humanitas opens with a striking image – a new Tower of Babel.
In Genesis, the failed construction at Babel represented humanity attempting unity and transcendence through technical mastery and self-sufficiency apart from God. Pope Leo suggests our current tech culture is in danger of repeating the same mistake, although he stresses that technology itself is not the problem.
“For centuries, the Christian tradition has maintained that human beings are not confined by the boundaries of their own nature; rather, they are called to self-transcendence, not through an escape from reality or a contempt for their limitations, but through their fulfillment in love,” he writes.
“Faith recognises an openness toward the ‘beyond,’ which originates as a gift from God. This transformation is a work of the Holy Spirit.”
In line with the church’s tradition, Pope Leo says the answer to our technological age won’t be found in rejecting progress, but in recovering the truth about every human person. The signs of renewal appearing across Sydney suggest many people are already searching for it.
