Ecclesiology has been a fertile ground for theological reflection since the document Lumen Gentium defined the nature of the Church from the perspective of the People of God. The emphasis upon the role of all the baptised was further enhanced in the post-Synodal document, Christifideles Laici. The revision of Canon Law (1983) encompassed a clear expression of the rights and responsibilities of all the baptised. At the background to this renewed consideration of the nature of the Church was the theological concept of communio which offered a fruitful basis for exploring the nature of the Church.

All of this offered an opportunity to present an ecclesiology alive with the vision of each baptised member being a vital contributor to the life and mission of the Church. The Church in Australia has responded positively to this emphasis and has seen an engagement of laity in the life of the Church especially at the level of the local parish and in the field of Catholic Education. The Church in Australia has witnessed a close collaboration between priest, religious and lay in ordinary aspects of Church life and activity. This has been one of the very positive fruits of the Council’s ecclesiology.

Australia, however, is also strongly influenced by the Western world’s pre-occupation with individual freedom and the rights of personal conscience. This clearly manifested itself in the response to the encyclical, Humanae Vitae, when voices emerged citing the rights of conscience to dissent from the teaching of the encyclical. There continues to be evidence of a tendency to place the sacredness of individual conscience and the desire for personal self-determination as a primary consideration in one’s participation in the life of the Church.

Subsequently the concept of communio has been misconceived by some as providing a basis for holding a "spiritual" relationship with the Church and at the same time not embracing a full practical unity with authentic authority within the Church. Ecclesial communion, however, has both a profound invisible and spiritual nature and also it possesses a visible and practical dimension expressed through a genuine unity with the Successor of St Peter.