Many church leaders have portrayed the council endeavor as something of an opportunity of last resort — a final chance to convince Catholics and wider society that the church has reformed in how it handles sexual abuse cases and can still be culturally relevant in this era.

Like many Catholics in Australia, Bishop Vincent Long speaks about the upcoming plenary council as something of a final chance for the national church to show it has both reformed on clergy sexual abuse and can still be culturally relevant in the 21st century.

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