Diaconate in Australia and New Zealand
Deacon Tony Hoban is Delegate of the IDC for Oceania.
If you look at the map of Australia you will see that it includes the large, main continent and then an island state called Tasmania. Tasmania sometimes gets forgotten when maps of Australia are created for special events – which greatly annoy s the residents of Tasmania. Well, I sometimes say that the diaconate is a bit like Tasmania when it comes to vocations in the church. (My deep sympathies to the small number of Tasmania deacons who experience both types of neglect!).
Like many parts of the world, the acceptance of the diaconate by Bishops in Australia has been mixed and patchy.
In some dioceses – like my own of Parramatta (western Sydney) – the Diaconate is very much alive and thriving, whereas in other Diocese there has never been any experience of permanent deacons, and others have been through periods of support and then inactivity – largely driven by the enthusiasm of the Bishop at any particular time.
There are currently about 200 deacons in Australia, with the largest concentrations in the larger metropolitan diocese of Brisbane, Sydney, Parramatta, Broken Bay (northern Sydney), Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.
In June 2016, the Congregation for the Clergy in Rome approved the ‘Norms for the Formation of Permanent Deacons and Guidelines for the Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons’ for Australia, for a period of six years. As this document now needs to be reviewed, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has endorsed a group to draft an update, led by Deacon Tim Grauel of Adelaide. I am happy to be part of this group.
Some of the issues that will be considered in the review will be topics such as:
- supervision and mentoring for clergy emerging from national Safeguarding Standards – the reality of a shortage of academic study options outside of major east-coast cities and options for more online study and a review of ideal topics of study – urban vs rural/regional formation – issues relating to aging deacons – ongoing formation for ordained deacons – a clearer articulation of the theology of the diaconate (drawing on the work of Prof John N Collins and Bishop Shawn McKnight of Jefferson City, Missouri).
In Australia the National Association of Deacons (NAD) is a fraternal membership organisation of deacons and others interested in the diaconate. We have a national executive with representatives from across the country. Sadly, the chair of the executive, Deacon Nick Kerr of Adelaide, passed away quite suddenly last year. I was elected as interim chair and was recently elected as the new Chair.
Nick was also part of the IDC Assembly of Delegates which works with the Board on governance of the organisation. I was asked to take his place and gladly took on this role as a way to seek to contribute to the diaconate beyond my own diocese and country.
As quite a new IDC Oceania representative, I’m keen to learn more about the diaconate in other parts of the region. My understanding is that in New Zealand, made up of six dioceses, only two have permanent Deacons – Auckland and Hamilton – and that there are about 30-35 deacons active in New Zealand at present.
I am not aware of deacons in other parts of the region, but am happy to be corrected. I would like to have this clarified by any readers who know more about this than me. Please email me at E-Mail schreiben
Conference in October 2022
Every two years we have a national deacons conference arranged by the NAD. This year my diocese is hosted the conference. We had more than 100 attendees who enjoyed presentations by a great list speakers and workshop presenters over 3 ½ days. IDC Chair, Gerald DuPont, kindly agreed to be one of the speakers at the conference and his countryman, Archbishop Charles Balvo, the Papal Nuncio to Australia, addressed our conference dinner, which was named in memory of Nick Kerr. The next Conference will be in Adelaide in 2024.
Conclusion
The diaconate has proven to be a rewarding vocation of being with people at key moments of their lives – be it in the joyful moments like baptisms and weddings or the challenging times like funerals and after natural disasters. I have appreciated being able to bring my work skills from being a journalist and corporate manager into my ministry and leadership roles in the church.
I enjoy preaching in a way which I hope helps people realise that I understand the challenges they face of negotiating their journey of faith amidst the daily challenges of balancing work and family life and dealing with mortgage pressures and the like. I particularly appreciate the fact that I have been able to minster alongside my wife and children on many occasions.
I hope the work of the NAD and IDC can help the diaconate to continue to respond well to the ever-changing needs of our world and help people develop a deeper relationship with Jesus.