On Monday, the Most Reverend Timothy Costelloe said he rejected any suggestion the church was trying to avoid taking responsibility for historical child sex abuses or did not take such complaints seriously.

Under intense questioning from Labor MP Dave Kelly over the church's handling of complaints, Archbishop Costelloe said he took full responsibility for the areas for which he was rightly responsible and did his best to ensure that those who had been hurt by other agencies in the church were referred to the ­correct people.

Archbishop Costelloe appeared as a witness to the WA parliamentary inquiry into the options available to survivors of institutional child sexual abuse.

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Pope Francis has approved the national ecclesiastical gathering.

The Plenary Council will meet twice - once in central Australia in late 2020 and again on the eastern seaboard in mid-2021.

The Council's aim is to make plans to address challenges the Church faces in contemporary Australian society.

Council delegates will seek deeper discernment, further learning, and dialogue.

A series of listening and dialogue sessions for establishing the Council's agenda begins on 20 May this year.

Pope Francis has endorsed Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe's nomination as the Council president.

Costelloe says he is "committed to listening to the Spirit.

"I encourage all Catholics, whether devout or disillusioned, fervent or frustrated, to seize this opportunity to speak what is on their minds and in their minds."

Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, who is the chair of the Bishops Commission for the Council, has asked people to "join in prayer as we embark on this journey together as God's people in Australia."

He says the gathering "will be a unique opportunity for people to come together and listen to God in all the ways God speaks to us, and in particular by listening to one another as together we discern what God is asking of us at this time - a time when the Church in Australia is facing significant challenges.

"We sincerely hope the preparation and celebration of the Plenary Council is a time when all parts of the Church listen to and dialogue with one another as we explore together how we might answer the question: ‘What do you think God is asking of us in Australia?'"

The bishops of Australia have launched a website for the Plenary Council to help people better understand how they can participate in the discussion process.

The website can be found at plenarycouncil.catholic.org.au

Decisions made at the Plenary Council will become binding for the Catholic Church in Australia, subject to the Holy See's approval.

Source

• Vatican News
• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: National Catholic Reporter