It is not the same as being good, because some good people have no faith. However, there are immense advantages in belonging to a single world-wide Church, whose basic teachings were given by the Son of God and where this deposit of faith is preserved particularly by the successors of Peter and the other apostles, i.e. the Pope and bishops. The Pope's final message at the end of our recent visit is published in this pamphlet. Somewhat unusually the ad limina visit began in November 1998 with a meeting between senior Vatican cardinals and archbishops and fifteen Australian bishops, the archbishops, presidents and secretaries of key Australian Bishops' Conference committees. The aim of this meeting was to discuss the religious situation in Australia, compare it with other parts of the world and together make recommendations for the future to grasp our opportunities and face up to the local challenges, many of which are common to every part of the Western world.
Every situation is at least somewhat different, even in Australian dioceses.
The Statement of Conclusions, which was endorsed by the Holy Father, follows. This merits examination and discussion so that together we can confront any problem areas. The Statement of Conclusions does not avoid any important challenge and is explicit in a way that is not universal in Vatican documents. Australians understand clear and courteous speech and the document is signed as an accurate record of the discussions by representatives of both sides. It is important to remember that it is a joint statement of Australian bishops and Curial bishops.